TPM, quoting The Nelson Report
The announcement by Secretary of State Condi Rice that she was going to the region, but would not seek direct meetings with Syria, the country the US claims to be at the heart of any “solution” to the Lebanon crisis, has sparked much international criticism, and rekindled debate in the US over the basic lack of Bush Administration policy.
Or, put another way, the Lebanon situation has exposed, once again, that US policy, under Bush, is largely whatever the Israeli government says it wants. So the long term effect of this on US-Arab relations generally, and the US ability to be constructively involved in any serious peace process, is once again under debate.
Mixed messages do abound, not the least of which being Rice’s promise of U.S. aid to Lebanon, even as America rushs to send more weapons to Israel. Seems we could save money on the aid by simply not sending the bombs.