Word: rice
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...other Western and Arab powers will engage players from Hizballah and the Lebanese government to Iran and Syria, the U.S. remains key to the diplomatic process - for the simple reason that it is the only one capable of persuading Israel to accept a truce. But Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice won't head for the region until early next week, a delay calculated to give Israel more time to succeed in its objective of eliminating Hizballah as a military threat. A senior Administration official told CNN Wednesday that the U.S. was giving Israel's military operation time to "defang" Hizballah...
...Secretary Rice, who heads for New York Friday to coordinate activities with U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, will face pressure from diplomatic allies who want an immediate cease-fire. European, Arab and U.N. diplomats share the goal of a deal that not only frees the two captive Israeli soldiers and stops Hizballah rocket fire, but also puts the Lebanese army in control of its southern border, protects Israel from further provocations and pursues the disarmament of Hizballah. But they're not convinced those goals can be achieved through a military campaign that has destroyed much of Lebanon's communication infrastructure...
...draconian sanctions such as cutting off food and fuel shipments could trigger the regime's collapse, bringing refugees, disease and economic and social disruption to China's northeast. Such fears are well founded, says Nicholas Eberstadt of the American Enterprise Institute in Washington. In 1994, China's reduction of rice supplies to the North?part of a previous effort to force Pyongyang to negotiate over its nuclear-weapons program?contributed to a devastating famine. "The famine was the fault of North Korean mismanagement, of course, but it's clear that Chinese actions were the straw that broke the camel...
...until someone--the U.N., nervous Arab countries like Egypt and Saudi Arabia or possibly the U.S.--intervenes and persuades one or both sides to stop. A British official told TIME that Prime Minister Tony Blair is personally pressing President George W. Bush to send Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to the region to engage in Henry Kissinger-style shuttle diplomacy. But it's not clear that anyone has the ability to get the belligerents to calm down. And the longer Israel and Hizballah keep up their skirmish, the greater the chances it will spread out of control...
What should the U.S. do? Blair and other allies would like Rice to take a more active role in bringing first calm and then a return to peace talks between the Israelis and Palestinians. Bush has showed no interest in engaging in the region in that way, and Washington is handicapped by its unwillingness to negotiate with four of the key players--Hamas and Hizballah, Syria and Iran--whose interests would have to be addressed. But crises can sometimes provide opportunities, especially since the U.S. can't afford to have another Middle East mess on its hands. At this point...