Saudi Arabia Asks U.S. to Intervene in Lebanon

President Bush greets Air Force and Army service men and women, Friday before boarding Air Force One at Buckley Air Force Base, Colo. (Haraz N. Ghanbari - AP)

The United States has refused to negotiate with Syria and Iran, the countries that are thought to have the greatest influence with Hezbollah.

At a dinner last week, Zbigniew Brzezinski, national security adviser in the Carter administration, derided Rice's trip as "sitting in front of a mirror, talking to herself" if she does not deal diplomatically with the major players.

Rice dismissed calls for the United States to talk directly with Syria, noting that former Secretary of State Colin L. Powell and two other senior State Department officials had tried to deal with Damascus -- always unsuccessfully. "The problem is not that we have not talked to Syria but that they have not acted," she said, adding that Damascus has long known what Washington believes it should do.

On CBS's "Face the Nation," Syria's ambassador to the United States, Imad Moustapha, said his country is open to a new dialogue with the United States. "What we are calling for is de-escalation, diplomatic engagement and for the United States to restart playing the role it used to play in the past, the role of the broker of peace," he said.

That idea was shot down by Bolten, who said the administration had close, direct contacts with Syria in Bush's first term, to little effect. "They continued to allow terrorism to flourish," Bolten said. "They supported Hezbollah."

Several major issues will be before Rice on her trip, including a possible cease-fire, the creation of a stabilization force and how to pressure Hezbollah. U.S. officials say they are increasingly focused on the rising civilian death toll, the dislocation of tens of thousands of families and the destruction of buildings and homes.

"The response to the humanitarian problem caused so far has not been adequate," said a senior U.S. official involved, who insisted on anonymity to speak frankly about the situation. "It's an issue for us. We are being partially blamed for it. Something has to be done -- and not in weeks or months. This has to be done urgently."

Some U.S. officials say they have been disappointed with earlier warnings to Israel -- which have gone unheeded -- about the wider regional repercussions of military tactics. "There has been considerable damage to infrastructure and civilians," the senior official added. "We're puzzled by some of the targets. So this question is point number one."

Refining Israel's tactics and limiting its targets are keys to the new U.S. effort to generate more political support for a lasting solution, which might involve more military operations, at a time when the Europeans are pressing for an immediate cease-fire.

Another issue is the composition of an international force to keep Hezbollah away from Israel's border. Israel wants a muscular force that could either disarm Hezbollah or prevent future attacks. But U.S. officials acknowledge the limited interest in another coalition force in the Middle East.

The Israeli defense minister indicated yesterday that his country might accept a force headed by NATO -- an idea John R. Bolton, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said would be worth exploring. Both Bolton, on CNN, and chief of staff Bolten indicated that U.S. troops would not be involved.

In Rome, Rice hopes to refine ideas for the proposed international force with European and Arab allies as well as discuss reconstruction aid for Lebanon. The goal is to move quickly after the hostilities to strengthen the beleaguered government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and to draw national support for the prospect of rebuilding Beirut, a city once called the Paris of the Middle East.

Rice learned late last night that Saudi Arabia would attend the Rome conference on Lebanon. Other parties tentatively scheduled to send delegations include Egypt, Jordan, Britain, France, Russia, Germany, the United Nations and the World Bank.

Staff writer Dana Priest contributed to this report.