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| 19/05/2008 US President George W. Bush called on Sunday on Lebanon’s neighbors and other nations in the Middle East to oppose Hezbollah, claiming that the lebanese resistance party turned out to be "the enemy of a free Lebanon," saying that all nations have an interest in helping the Lebanese people prevail.
"We must stand with the people of Lebanon in their struggle to build a sovereign and independent democracy," Bush told a mostly Arab audience at the World Economic Forum in Sharm el-Sheikh on Sunday, claiming that this means opposing whom he called "Hezbollah terrorists, funded by Iran, who recently revealed their true intentions by taking up arms against the Lebanese people," according to Bush.
Bush also sought to reassure skeptical Arabs he is committed to securing a deal on Palestinian statehood before he leaves office, despite his outspoken support for Israel, claiming the so-called peace in the Middle East was possible by the end of the year but that it required "tough sacrifices."
Wrapping up his Middle East tour in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, Bush was looking to ease Palestinian dismay over his visit to Israel, where he lavished the Zionist entity with praise, hailing it as a "homeland for the chosen people."
Bush alternately prodded and encouraged his allies from the so-called moderates on everything from oil to political reform, and urged them to isolate U.S. foes Syria and Iran for "supporting terrorism."
"We must stand with the Palestinian people, who have suffered for decades and earned the right to a homeland of their own," Bush said at the end of a five day Middle East tour.
Attempting to adjust his approach from the one taken on his visit to Israel for marking the formation of the Zionist entity on the Palestinian territories, Bush pressed Palestinians to "fight terror" and called on Israel to make "tough sacrifices for peace and ease restrictions on Palestinians."
He was alluding to the hardship Palestinians face from Israeli roadblocks and barriers in the occupied West Bank, measures they call collective punishment.
Bush, who met Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Sharm el-Sheikh on Saturday, sought broader regional support for the so-called peace process and urged Arab states to "move past their old resentments against Israel."
He called on Arab governments to free all "prisoners of conscience" and open up political debate. "Too often in the Middle East, politics has consisted of one leader in power and the opposition in jail," Bush said.
Reflecting concern over record oil prices during a presidential election year, Bush also warned Arab oil producers their supplies were limited and they must diversify their economies. His comments follow a visit to Saudi Arabia where he won a modest increase in oil output. | 
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