David Welch Holds a News Conference at the Foreign Press Center

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David Welch Holds a News Conference at the Foreign Press Center

ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE DAVID WELCH HOLDS A NEWS CONFERENCE AT THE FOREIGN PRESS CENTER

AUGUST 15, 2006

SPEAKER: DAVID WELCH, ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE FOR NEAR EASTERN AFFAIRS

[*] (JOINED IN PROGRESS) WELCH: ... on these issues has been a good one. And we have great confidence in the ability of the Turkish military. That said, it's a subject for Turkey to decide, as it looks at this situation. The present resolution, sir, authorizes the composition of a new and enhanced UNIFIL. A second resolution is out there as a possibility, should it be necessary to have an additional mandate for the United Nations activity.

But presently, there's sufficient legal authority under international law to do what is necessary to make the new force.

QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, the president has said repeatedly that the United States should deal with the root causes of the problem. And by the root causes, he's not talking about the Arab-Israeli conflict. He was talking essentially about Hezbollah as a phenomenon of a state within a state.

Now, do you think that root causes would have been solved if Hezbollah had, say, withdrew north of the Litani and yet maint...

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