Bush Rejects Lebanon's Call For Cease-Fire
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Courtesy Of: SFGate.com
By Tom Raum
Associated Press Writer
Friday, July 14, 2006

President Bush rejected Lebanon's calls for a ceas-fire in an escalating Mideast violence on Friday, saying that Israel should try to limit civilian casualties as it steps up attacks on its neighbor.

"The president is not going to make military decisions for Israel," White House Spokesman Tony Snow said.

Lebanon's prime minister asked Bush, during a phone call Friday, to pressure Israel for a cease-fire. But Bush told Prime Minister Fouad Saniora that Israelis have a right to protect themselves.

"We think it's important that, in doing that, they try to limit as much as possible the so-called collateral damage, not only on civilians but also on human lives," Snow said.

Saniora's office issued a statement saying Bush "Affirmed his readiness to put pressure on Israel to limit the damage to Lebanon as a result of the current military action, and to spare civilians and innocent people from harm."

Snow said that wasn't so. Bush merely "reiterated his position" that Israel should limit the impact on civilians," he said.


Source:
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2006/07/14/national/w130201D34.DTL