President Bush is coming under criticism for failing to take a role in ending the bloodshed. On Sunday the White House revealed the president has not yet spoken with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert since Israel began attacking Lebanon. On Saturday, Bush spoke from Russia at the G8 Summit said Israel has a right to defend itself.

• President Bush: “One of the interesting things about this recent flare-up is that it helps clarify one of the root causes of instability in the Middle East, and that’s Hezbollah’s relations with Syria, Hezbollah’s relationship to Iran and Syria’s relationship to Iran. Therefore to solve this problem it is really important for the world to address the root cause. We of course are continuing discussions with Israel, all sovereign nations have a right to defend themselves from terrorist attacks, our message (to Israel) is defend yourself but be mindful of the consequences, so we are urging restraint.”

On Saturday the United Nations Security Council again rejected pleas from Lebanon that it call for an immediate cease-fire between Israel and Lebanon. The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported the U.S. was the sole member of the 15-nation UN body to oppose any council action at all at this time.