President Bush is vowing to help arm Lebanon’s army so it can fight Hezbollah. In an interview with the BBC on the eve of his trip to the Middle East, Bush said the US must support the Lebanese government in the ongoing sectarian violence.

President Bush: “So our position, my government’s position, is to support the Siniora government, is to beef up his army, so that he can have a chance to respond to the people who are acting outside the confines of government. And, you know, Hezbollah would be nothing without Iranian support, and Iranians are the crux of many of the problems in the Middle East, whether it be funding of Hezbollah, funding of Hamas, or obviously actions within the young democracy of Iraq. So a lot of my trip is going to be to get people to focus not only on Lebanon, remember Lebanon, but also remember that Iran causes a lot of the problems.”

President Bush arrives in Israel on Wednesday and will then visit Saudi Arabia and Egypt.