The White House has expressed a guarded optimism about the possibility for peace in Lebanon, just hours after a ceasefire in the region was declared. “Since the ceasefire this morning, there have been no rocket attacks, no defensive movements. There have been two minor military skirmishes between Israeli and Hezbollah forces,” said White House spokesman Tony Snow. “There have been no troop movements, apparently on either side, designed to change the military status quo that prevailed at 5:00 am GMT, which is when the cease-fire took hold.” Snow added that the ceasefire would now “require good behavior on the part of Hezbollah,” and he expressed the hope of the Bush administration that the government of Lebanon will now “be able to have the credibility.” When questioned by reporters whether the Israeli military offensive had weakened Hezbollah since conflict began on July 12, Snow said it was “pretty obvious” that it had. “By Israel's reckoning, more than 500 Hezbollah guerrillas [are] killed, certainly rocket capacity is degraded and so on,” he said. The timing of the ceasefire and the willingness of the Bush administration to curtail Israel's bombing campaign and ground offensive into Lebanon were heavily criticized both internationally and by U.S. media.
