U.S. takes optimistic view of Lebanon
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The big guns have barely fallen silent in Lebanon but already President Bush and the State Department are finding cause for cheer in the outcome of the 34-day war between Israel and Hezbollah militia.
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Aid is proving crucial - and may lift America's image.
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France's foreign minister says he "understands" two Israeli soldiers kidnapped in Lebanon last year are alive.
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Israel's foreign minister said Tuesday that an upcoming peace conference in the United States offers a crucial opportunity for progress, amid growing optimism that this time Â just maybe Â momentum for peace is real and sustainable.
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LONDON, Sep 11 (IPS) - It was not perhaps the best day for British Prime  Minister Tony Blair to talk peace in Lebanon. The date was a  reminder how closely Britain led by Blair has backed the U.S. led  'war on terror' since those attacks in New York and  Washington five years back.
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CRAWFORD, Texas  - President George W. Bush told   Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora on Saturday that he hopes   a new U.N. resolution will dismantle what he called Hizbollah's   "state within a state" in southern Lebanon.
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The sombre official end to mourning for Yasser Arafat today contrasted with a new sense of optimism in the West Asia after his death.
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Before the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, U.S. officials confidently predicted that the toppling of Saddam Hussein would lead to renewed momentum on the Israeli-Palestinian peace track.
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Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon sounded a note of optimism about the prospects for Middle East peace, crediting the new leadership of the Palestinian Authority for the brightened outlook.
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While senior Israeli and Palestinian officials were cautiously optimistic about the rapprochement between them, some political analysts and people on the street said they could not shake their pessimism about the future, despite signs that things could get better.
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But the conditions that fostered them in Lebanon remain  -  and a concerned U.S. is shipping more military aid to the Siniora government
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The EU foreign policy chief begins a Mid-East tour holding positive meetings with political rivals in Lebanon.
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Talk about the Middle East is upbeat these days in Washington, Europe, and Jerusalem, as presidents, prime ministers, and diplomats
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The State Department said Friday that Americans in Lebanon should consider leaving when it is safe to do so, and officials made contingency plans for the evacuation of people who cannot leave on their own.
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Despite an appearance at the United Nations that was friendlier and more optimistic than any of his previous speeches to the world body
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The United States is willing to consider a proposal to use Lebanese troops as a peacekeeping force in Hezbollah-controlled areas but is convinced that Lebanon is not equipped to handle the job on its own, the White House said Tuesday.
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Anger toward America is high, extremists are on the upswing and hopes for democracy in the Middle East lie dashed. The Lebanon war is creating dangerous ripples in the war on terror, the future of Iraq &#151; even the effort to keep nuclear weapons from dangerous hands.