Bush: 'A New Power' In South Lebanon
President Bush said Monday that Hezbollah guerillas suffered a defeat at the hands of Israel in their month-long Mideast war.
"There's going to be a new power in the south of Lebanon," Mr. Bush said.
Mr. Bush also said the war was part of a broader struggle between freedom and terror and "we can only imagine how much more dangerous this conflict would be if Iran had the nuclear weapon it seeks."
Mr. Bush said Iran and Syria were the primary sponsors of Hezbollah guerrillas who captured two Israeli soldiers, igniting the battle with Israel. More than 900 people were killed in the fighting, and there was massive destruction in southern Lebanon.
Mr. Bush said the "responsibility for this suffering lies with Hezbollah."
The president spoke at the State Department after conferring with his national security team, first at the Pentagon and then at the State Department. He was flanked by Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
The Bush administration kept its distance from Israel during the conflict but privately, the administration saw it as a chance to cripple Hezbollah, reports CBS News senior White House correspondent Bill Plante. The White House got nervous when that didn't happen quickly and is now hoping Israel did enough damage to neutralize Hezbollah.
Mr. Bush said the U.N. cease-fire resolution adopted Friday was "an important step forward that will help bring an end to the violence."
"We certainly hope the cease-fire holds," the president said.
"Lebanon can't be a strong democracy when there is a state within a state, and that's Hezbollah," Mr. Bush said.
"Hezbollah attacked Israel without any knowledge of the (Lebanese) government. Hezbollah attacked Israel. Hezbollah started the crisis, and Hezbollah suffered a defeat in this crisis," the president said.
In the Mideast, there were competing claims about who came out on top in the month-long war that claimed more than 900 lives.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said the war had shifted the strategic balance in the region and eliminated the "state within a state" run by Hezbollah, restoring Lebanon's sovereignty in the south.
But Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah said his guerrillas achieved a "strategic, historic victory" against Israel. "We came out victorious in a war in which big Arab armies were defeated (before)," Nasrallah said.
"Both sides will claim victory, but recognize further conflict has no benefit. As long as Hezbollah is somewhat constrained, as it was before, Israel can deal with the outcome," Michael O'Hanlon, a foreign policy senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, said on CBS News' The Early Show. "We have to watch both sides to see if they can keep the cease-fire intact in the next few hours and days and what happens over the next month."
One Israeli commentator called it merely "the beginning of the countdown to the next war" but CBS News correspondent Allen Pizzey reports
that a more optimistic view is that cease-fires here are a process of phased relaxation.
Meanwhile, Lebanese civilians streamed back to their homes Monday after a U.N. cease-fire halted fighting in a month-long conflict between Israel and Hezbollah guerrillas that has claimed more than 900 lives and sent people fleeing on both sides of the border. The Lebanese returned to find "block after block, totally destroyed, some of the buildings still smoldering," reports .
Israelis also emerged emerging from bomb shelters, as Hezbollah rockets stopped falling on northern cities, reports CBS News correspondent Robert Berger. But in a sign that Israelis are unsure that the cease-fire will hold, there has been no influx of returning refugees.
In other developments:
Olmert said Monday he takes sole responsibility, as Israel's prime minister, for the Lebanon campaign. "We will continue to pursue them everywhere and at all times," he said. "We have no intention of asking anyone's permission."
Olmert advised patience for critics who believe that the war fell short of Israel's original goal of dismantling Hezbollah. "We don't plan to apologize," he said.
Three Knesset members were ejected from parliament during Olmert's speech for heckling; several others have called for a commission of inquiry into the offensive.
Olmert acknowledged there were "deficiencies" in the way the war was conducted. "We will have to review ourselves in all the battles," he said. "We won't sweep things under the carpet."
Anticipating that another war with Hezbollah may come in the future, the prime minister said Israel will learn the lessons of this war and "do better."
The prime minister also promised to do everything he could to win the return of two captive Israeli soldiers — ostensibly the original reason for the invasion of Lebanon.
"We are today before a strategic, historic victory, without exaggeration," Nasrallah said in a taped speech on Hezbollah's al-Manar TV. "We came out victorious in a war in which big Arab armies were defeated (before)," the black-turbaned cleric said.
He further declared now was not the time to debate the disarmament of his guerrilla fighters, saying the issue should be done in secret sessions of the government to avoid serving Israeli interests.
"This is immoral, incorrect and inappropriate," he said. "It is wrong timing on the psychological and moral level particularly before the cease-fire," he said in reference to calls from critics for the guerrillas to disarm.
He declared that the massive destruction inflicted upon Israel was an expression of what he called its "failure and impotency."
He promised the militant Shiite organization would help the Lebanese people rebuild.
"The enemy destroyed thousands of houses in the south, the Bekaa and the southern suburbs," Nasrallah said. He said 15,000 housing units were completely destroyed in the 34 days of fighting.
Israelis are skeptical about the cease-fire, reports Berger. One newspaper headline said the government expects the truce to fail.
Earlier Monday, Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz promised "We have no intention of sinking in the Lebanese quagmire."
Several incidents Monday morning marred the cease-fire, as Israeli soldiers fired upon groups or individual Hezbollah guerrillas approaching their positions.
Some 30,000 Israeli forces remained in Lebanon and Nasrallah said the militia would consider them legitimate targets until they withdraw from the country. The next step — sending in a peacekeeping mission — still appeared days away.
A Lebanese cabinet minister told Europe-1 radio in France that Lebanese soldiers could move into the southern part of the country as early as Wednesday. The U.N. plan calls for a 30,000-member, joint Lebanese-international force to move south of the Litani River, about 18 miles from the Israeli border, and stand as a buffer between Israel and Hezbollah militia.
"The Lebanese army is readying itself along the Litani to cross the river in 48 to 72 hours," said Lebanon's communications minister, Marwan Hamade.
The deployment of the Lebanese troops and U.N. peacekeepers was a cornerstone of the cease-fire resolution passed Friday by the U.N. Security Council. France, Italy, Turkey and Malaysia have signaled a willingness to contribute troops, but consultations are still needed to hammer out the force's makeup and mandate.
Officials said Israeli troops would begin pulling out as soon as the Lebanese and international troops start deploying to the area. But it appeared Israeli forces were staying put for the moment. Some exhausted soldiers left Lebanon early Monday, but were being replaced by fresh troops.
Israel also would maintain its air and sea blockade of Lebanon to prevent arms from reaching Hezbollah guerrillas, army officials said.