Rice Says United States Wants an 'Urgent and Enduring' Peace

During a meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Tuesday, U.S. President George W. Bush refused to embrace the importance of an immediate cease-fire to end Israel-Hezbollah fighting in Lebanon.

"We want to address the root causes of the violence in the area. And, therefore, our mission and our goal is to have a lasting peace, not a temporary peace, but something that lasts," Bush said.

Bush has resisted multiple calls from Arab leaders for him to urge an immediate cease-fire, saying Hezbollah attacks on Israelis must be addressed.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, in a frenetic set of meetings amid intense Israel-Hezbollah fighting, said Tuesday that the United States wants an "urgent and enduring" peace where problems are solved without war.