Is the U.S. intentionally stalling on diplomacy?

Is the U.S. standing in the way of a cease-fire to give Israel more time to pound Hezbollah targets? Wednesday, a strong denial came from the White House.

"We're not engaged in military strategy sessions with the Israelis," said White House spokesman Tony Snow. "We're not colluding, we're not cooperating, we're not conspiring, we're not doing any of that."

Would a cease-fire even work? American diplomats say no.

"I want somebody to address the problem how you get a cease-fire with a terrorist organization," says U.N. Ambassador John Bolton.

What would it take to defeat Hezbollah? Military experts say a division of Israeli ground forces followed by international peacekeepers to create a buffer zone.

"Let them get Hezbollah to the point, and the Lebanese and the Syrians to the point where they think negotiations is their best remaining option," says NBC military analyst Gen. Barry McCaffrey. "They're not there yet, unfortunately."

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCBP leaders cut out of Trump ad buy decision

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAmerican passenger drafted goodbye texts to her family as Flydubai plane plummeted

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation pushes embattled New York prosecutor into national spotlight

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAbdul El-Sayed tries to woo MAHA voters as Democrats seek inroads with RFK’s supporters

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKratom-like substances are popping up in a typically benign supplement

FOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP super PAC increases its spending for Sen. Jon Husted in tough Ohio race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRecords reveal tumultuous marriage between slain New York Times executive and wife

FOR SUBSCRIBERSFrom clean energy warrior to ‘wall of shame,’ James Talarico reverses on a fossil fuel money pledge

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongressional staff planned official trip with luxury stops in Italy and France weeks before election

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA harrowing ordeal aboard an Israel-bound plane

FOR SUBSCRIBERSOpenAI CEO Sam Altman to skip congressional hearing on rogue AI agents

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKey DOJ lawyers departed Trump ‘grand conspiracy’ probe amid pressure to produce, source says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump’s new AI chatbot often links to a site launched under Clinton 26 years ago

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAt MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThis Paralympian has two goals: Win medals and give away $500,000 to her teammates

What about diplomacy? For decades, secretaries of state have shuttled around the Middle East.

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCBP leaders cut out of Trump ad buy decision

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAmerican passenger drafted goodbye texts to her family as Flydubai plane plummeted

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation pushes embattled New York prosecutor into national spotlight

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAbdul El-Sayed tries to woo MAHA voters as Democrats seek inroads with RFK’s supporters

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKratom-like substances are popping up in a typically benign supplement

FOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP super PAC increases its spending for Sen. Jon Husted in tough Ohio race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRecords reveal tumultuous marriage between slain New York Times executive and wife

FOR SUBSCRIBERSFrom clean energy warrior to ‘wall of shame,’ James Talarico reverses on a fossil fuel money pledge

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongressional staff planned official trip with luxury stops in Italy and France weeks before election

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA harrowing ordeal aboard an Israel-bound plane

FOR SUBSCRIBERSOpenAI CEO Sam Altman to skip congressional hearing on rogue AI agents

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKey DOJ lawyers departed Trump ‘grand conspiracy’ probe amid pressure to produce, source says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump’s new AI chatbot often links to a site launched under Clinton 26 years ago

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAt MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThis Paralympian has two goals: Win medals and give away $500,000 to her teammates

Instead of Condoleezza Rice this time, the U.S. is waiting for a report from a little-known U.N. envoy — Vijay Nambiar — who will return from a fact-finding mission Wednesday night.

"When it is necessary and will be helpful to the situation, I am more than pleased to go to the region, " Condoleezza Rice said Tuesday.

Rice will meet with U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan Thursday night and will go to the Mideast in coming days. But she will not meet with anyone from Iran and Syria. The U.S. says they should be isolated, insisting that's the best way to get them to rein in Hezbollah.