Bush suspects Syria trying to reassert influence

updated 7:08 p.m. ET July 18, 2006

WASHINGTON - President Bush said Tuesday he suspects Syria is trying to reassert influence in Lebanon more than a year after Damascus ended what had effectively been a long-term military occupation of its smaller, weaker neighbor.

“It’s in our interest that Syria stay out of Lebanon and this government survive,” Bush said in a reference to the young, Lebanese government.

Bush spoke at the White House after briefing members of Congress about his recent trip to Russia for an economic summit that was overshadowed by fighting between Israel and the Islamic militant group Hezbollah.

“Everybody abhors the loss of innocent life,” Bush said. “On the other hand, what we recognize is that the root cause of the problem is Hezbollah. And that problem must be addressed ... by making it clear to Syria that they’ve got to stop their support to Hezbollah.”

Bush blames Syria, Iran
He said there are suspicions that instability caused by Hezbollah’s attacks will cause some in Lebanon to invite Syria to return to the nation.

“Listen, Syria is trying to get back into Lebanon, it looks like to me,” said Bush, who also noted the backing Hezbollah receives from Iran.

“In order to be able to deal with this crisis, the world must deal with Hezbollah, with Syria and to continue to work to isolate Iran,” Bush said.

The president reiterated his stance that Israel should be free to respond to attacks, but warned against triggering the collapse of the Lebanese government run by Prime Minister Fuad Saniora.

“We have made it very clear that Israel should be allowed to defend herself,” Bush said. “We’ve asked that as she does so that she be mindful of the Saniora government. It’s very important that this government in Lebanon succeed and survive.”

Fighting began June 25 when Hamas-linked militants in the Gaza Strip carried out a cross-border attack on a military outpost in Israel, killing two soldiers and capturing one. Hezbollah guerrillas joined the fray in July, attacking a military patrol on the border in northern Israel, killing three soldiers and capturing two. Both Hamas and Hezbollah have said the attacks were not related.

Rice to Middle East?
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is expected to go to the Middle East Friday after visiting the United Nations to speak to Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Israel's U.N. ambassador said Tuesday.

“I understand the secretary is going to arrive in New York on Thursday evening ... and I understand she is going to leave for the region on Friday,” Israeli Ambassador Dan Gillerman told Fox News. The U.S. State Department would not comment.

A senior State Department official said it was flatly "not true" regarding a Friday departure. But a trip to the U.N. and New York is

U.S. and diplomatic sources tell NBC News that Rice is strongly considering a trip to the Middle East during which she would likely meet with Arab leaders —including the Egytpians and the Jordanians.

Final decisions on whether she would go to Israel and Lebanon are still pending, depending on security considerations. She would leave this weekend, before going onto previously scheduled stops in Asia.

In New York, Gillerman said, Rice would have dinner with Annan and Javier Solana, the European Union’s foreign policy chief. She may meet a U.N. delegation Annan sent to the Middle East, Gillerman said.

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