Bolton admits Lebanon truce block

Bolton's admission that the United States deliberately resisted calls for an immediate ceasefire in order to weaken Hizbullah simply reveals how insensitive this administration has been to the various situations on the ground in the Middle East. Their insistence that Hizbullah is a terrorist organization represents their refusal to admit that Hizbullah has many functions, many of them social and thus many of them vital to the continuing welfare of many people, not only Shi'a, in Lebanon.

Bolton admits Lebanon truce block
BBC News

"A former top American diplomat says the US deliberately resisted calls for a immediate ceasefire during the conflict in Lebanon in the summer of 2006."
"Former ambassador to the UN John Bolton told the BBC that before any ceasefire Washington wanted Israel to eliminate Hezbollah's military capability"
"He said the US decided to join efforts to end the conflict only when it was clear Israel's campaign wasn't working."
"Britain joined the US in refusing to call for an immediate ceasefire."
"...several key players claim that, privately,there were Arab leaders who also wanted Israel to destroy Hezbollah."
" 'There were many not ... resistant to the thought that the Israelis should thoroughly defeat Hezbollah, who... increasingly by Arab states were seen as an Iranian proxy," said UN special envoy Terje Roed Larsen.' "
"More than 1,000 Lebanese civilians and an unknown number of Hezbollah fighters were killed in the conflict. Israel lost 116 soldiers in the fighting, while 43 of its civilians were killed in Hezbollah rocket attacks."