Tension between the U.S. and Israel, always bubbling just beneath the surface, is popping up all over the place, in spite of George W. Bush’s confusion about which country he’s really chief executive of. Condoleezaa Rice’s trip to Rome, where she argued for a “sustainable cease-fire” rather than an immediate cessation of hostilities, is a case in point. The declaration issued by the conferees reflected this “sustainable” view, and the Israelis immediately cited it as a green light to continue their relentless campaign of bombing civilians in the name of “fighting terrorism.” According to the New York Times, however, the State Department, begs to differ:
“Israeli officials said later that in fact, the declaration gave Israel the world’s permission to continue strikes in Lebanon against Hezbollah targets.
“But today, a State Department spokesman, Adam Ereli, said that such an interpretation of the Rome declaration was ‘outrageous,’ and that the United States was working for a durable end to the conflict.”
“Outrageous” pretty much describes Israel’s behavior in all of this, and we can expect more of the same from both the Israelis and the State Department as the crisis continues. Simply put, Israeli interests and American interests are at loggerheads in Lebanon, and the longer this war continues the more we will see and hear rhetorical salvos fired betwee Washington and Tel Aviv.