Here is an article I found in the Israeli newspaper Haartez.com.

It makes one wonder where our government is heading

Rice: Cease-fire won't help
By Shmuel Rosner

WASHINGTON - The United States government continued yesterday to monitor developments in Lebanon, but the only practical measure it took was sending a task force to Beirut to plan the evacuation of U.S. nationals should that become necessary.

Regarding the war itself, it was hard to misjudge the mood in Washington. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said she didn't see how the immediate cease-fire that Lebanon has called for would solve the problem. She also said that in a conversation with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, she expressed concern about civilian casualties in Lebanon

There were no calls on Israel from the American administration to halt its attacks yesterday. U.S. President George W. Bush has in recent days repeatedly accused Iran and Syria of fomenting the crisis.

The administration is busy with the G8 summit, which Bush is attending in St. Petersburg, with the Iranian nuclear program high on the agenda. The U.S. hopes to leave the summit with an agreement among the eight participating heads of state to increase pressure on Iran via the UN Security Council.

A Bush spokesman denied reports Friday that the president plans to pressure Israel. Diplomats in Washington say there is agreement at this stage to allow Israel to continue its actions against Hezbollah and Lebanon before any real international intervention to resolve the crisis. This policy has thus far not garnered criticism of Israel from senior American politicians on the left or the right.

Former Republican majority leader Newt Gingrich and Democratic Senator Joseph Biden both appeared on television's "Meet the Press" program yesterday and both said they held Hezbollah, Syria and Iran responsible for the situation. Gingrich went so far as to call the warfare in Lebanon part "of the third world war."

The American press is covering the Mideast extensively and many editorials have expressed support, albeit reserved, for the "Israel's right to self-defense" formula, although some have stated reservations about the extensive attacks on civilian infrastructure.