WASHINGTON - US President George W. Bush on Monday said the Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah had "suffered a defeat" in its conflict with Israel and predicted the group's influence in Lebanon would decline.
"Hezbollah started the crisis. And Hezbollah suffered a defeat in this crisis," Bush said at the US State Department, pointing to the planned deployment of a multinational force in southern Lebanon to prevent the militia from striking Israel.
08/14/2006 20:04 GMT