Top Republican asks Bush to push for immediate Lebanon ceasefire

AFP | Aug 1 2006

A leading Republican senator urged US President George W. Bush to call for an immediate ceasefire in the war between Israel and the militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon.

"The sickening slaughter on both sides must end now. President Bush must call for an immediate ceasefire. This madness must stop," Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel, a possible candidate in the 2008 presidential election, said on the Senate floor.

The Bush administration has been under pressure from Arab and European states to press Israel into halting its offensive, but has received relatively limited pressure from US lawmakers -- especially those in his own party -- to do the same.

Hagel said the US link to Israel was a "special and historic one."

"But, it need not and cannot be at the expense of our Arab and Muslim relationships," he said.

Bush said Monday the United States was "urgently" working to end the conflict, but again resisted calls for an immediate ceasefire and avoided criticism of Israel.

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INFOWARS: BECAUSE THERE'S A WAR ON FOR YOUR MIND