[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 42, Number 29 (Monday, July 24, 2006)]
[Pages 1359-1360]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks Following a Meeting With Congressional Leaders and an Exchange 
With Reporters

July 18, 2006

    The President. I just had the pleasure of briefing the key Members 
of the House and the Senate on my trip to St. Petersburg and to Germany. 
Thank you all for coming.
    You know, prior to my traveling to St. Petersburg, I thought the 
issue was going to be whether or not we could bring the world together 
to deal with North Korea and Iran--and by the way, during my stay there, 
we did get an unanimous United Nations Security Council agreement on 
North Korea. And it was my pleasure to be able to thank the Chinese and 
the Russians and the Japanese and our European friends for voting 
favorably for that resolution--but instead, a lot of the discussion was 
on the Hizballian attacks into Israel.
    What was really interesting was that--and I briefed this to the 
Members--that we were able to reach a very strong consensus that the 
world must confront the root causes of the current instability. And the 
root cause of that current instability is terrorism and terrorist 
attacks on a democratic country. And part of those terrorist attacks are 
inspired by nation-states like Syria and Iran. And in order to be able 
to deal with this crisis, the world must deal with Hizballah, with 
Syria, and to continue to work to isolate Iran.
    I strongly believe every nation ought to be able to defend herself 
from terrorist attacks. We're also mindful--and I talked to the 
Members--about the need to make sure the Government of Lebanon does not 
collapse. It's in our interest that Lebanon be free and the Siniora 
Government succeed.
    We also talked about the evacuation of U.S. citizens in Lebanon. And 
Condi briefed the Members about the joint plan with the Defense 
Department to make sure there's enough transportation to expeditiously 
provide transportation for those who want to leave. And we're in the 
process of doing that.
    All in all, it was a very positive visit there in the G-8. We dealt 
with significant problems. Sometimes it requires tragic situations to 
help bring clarity in the international community. And it is now clear 
for all to see that there are terrorist elements who want to destroy our 
democratic friends and allies, and the world must work to prevent them 
from doing so.
    With that, I'll be glad to answer a couple of questions. Let's see, 
here. Yes.

Situation in the Middle East

    Q. In trying to defuse the situation in the Middle East, is the 
United States trying to buy time and give Israel a chance to weaken 
Hizballah militarily?
    The President. Well, we have made it very clear that Israel should 
be allowed to defend herself. We've asked that as she does

[[Page 1360]]

so, that she be mindful of the Siniora Government. It's very important 
that this Government in Lebanon succeed and survive.
    Everybody abhors the loss of innocent life. On the other hand, what 
we recognize is that the root cause of the problem is Hizballah. And 
that problem must be addressed, and it can be addressed through--
internationally by making it clear to Syria that they've got to stop 
their support to Hizballah.
    Listen, Syria is trying to get back into Lebanon--it looks like to 
me. We passed United Nations Resolution 1559, and finally this young 
democracy--or this democracy became whole--by getting Syria out. And 
there's suspicions that the instability created by the Hizballian 
attacks will cause some in Lebanon to invite Syria back in, and it's 
against the United Nations policy, and it's against the U.S. policy.
    Q. There's a Deputy Army Chief of Israel who said that for this 
offensive to reach its goal will take weeks. Are you comfortable with 
that kind of timeframe? Are you comfortable with letting the offensive 
go on for weeks?
    The President. I want the world to address the root causes of the 
problem, and the root cause of the problem is Hizballah. I also--and 
we've been, of course, in touch with Israel. Condi spoke to Prime 
Minister Olmert yesterday on the airplane flying back. And we're never 
going to tell a nation how to defend herself, but we are urging caution 
when it comes to the survival of the Siniora Government. It's essential 
that the Government of Lebanon survive this crisis.
    We've worked hard to free--and ``we'' being the international 
community--worked hard to free Lebanon from Syrian influence. And 
there's a young government there. And it's in our interest that Syria 
stay out of Lebanon and this Government survive. And so in our 
consultations with countries in the neighborhood, we have urged all to 
address the problem--that would be Hizballah and its terrorist attacks 
on Israel.
    Remember, this started--this crisis started when Hizballah captured 
two Israeli soldiers. They were unprovoked--Hizballah were unprovoked, 
and they then took hostages. Imagine how the United States would react 
if somebody provoked us with that kind of action--and secondly, started 
firing rockets. And it's this provocation of Hizballah that has created 
this crisis, and that's the root cause of the problem.
    All right, thank you all.

Note: The President spoke at 3:57 p.m. in the Cabinet Room at the White 
House. In his remarks, he referred to Prime Minister Fuad Siniora of 
Lebanon; and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of Israel. A reporter referred 
to Maj. Gen. Moshe Kaplinsky, Deputy Chief of the General Staff, Israel 
Defense Forces.