Mid East, July 22

NYT: The Israeli military massed armored vehicles near its northern border on Friday, called up several thousand reserve soldiers and warned residents of south Lebanon to flee, suggesting expanded ground operations may lie ahead in its war with the Lebanese militia Hezbollah.

NYT: US will speed up a delivery of precision guided bombs to Israel. Some see this as a sign of a longer campaign ahead.

W Post: Condoleezza Rice yesterday announced plans for talks with Israeli, Palestinian and Lebanese leaders as part of a new U.S. diplomatic effort in the Middle East conflict, but warned that the United States would not support a cease-fire that fell short of disarming Hezbollah and restoring Lebanese government control throughout the besieged country.

Condoleezza Rice: What I won’t do is go to some place and try to get a cease-fire that I know isn’t going to last.

Op-Eds in TimesSelect: Maureen Dowd and John Tierney.