Bush Wants Lasting Mideast Cease-Fire

[unhappycamper]

Bush Wants Lasting Mideast Cease-Fire
January 03, 2009
Associated Press

WASHINGTON - President George W. Bush says any cease-fire in the Mideast must be fully respected, Hamas rocket attacks on Israel stopped and the flow of smuggled weapons into Gaza cut off.

Bush called the Hamas attacks an "act of terror" and said no peace deal would be acceptable unless the flow of smuggled weapons to terrorist groups is monitored and stopped. He made the comments in his weekly radio address taped for broadcast Saturday but released a day early.

It was the first time Bush has spoken about one of the bloodiest Mideast clashes in decades, though a White House spokesman has offered extensive comments in recent days.

The conflict began a week ago. Israeli warplanes have rained bombs on Gaza, targeting the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which has traumatized southern Israel with intensifying rocket attacks.

"The United States is leading diplomatic efforts to achieve a meaningful cease-fire that is fully respected," Bush said. "Another one-way cease-fire that leads to rocket attacks on Israel is not acceptable. And promises from Hamas will not suffice - there must be monitoring mechanisms in place to help ensure that smuggling of weapons to terrorist groups in Gaza comes to an end."


Rest of article at: http://www.military.com/news/article/bush-wants-lasting-mideast-ceasefire.html

[lostnotforgotten]

1. Hollow Words From A Hollow Man

eom