As soon as they run out of bombs

I guess the body count isn't high enough for the Bush administration yet.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said she would return to the Middle East "when it is right" but gave no timetable, dashing hopes she would launch a new Middle East peace drive on Friday.

It was unclear where she would go to next but Rice indicated it was too early to use her diplomatic muscle and push for a ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel, which has been pounding Hizbollah in southern Lebanon for over two weeks.

"I am going to return to the Middle East. The question is when is it right for me to return to the Middle East," she told a news conference after taking part in a global security forum in Malaysia.

Meanwhile, in reality,

Warplanes repeatedly bombed hill villages near the southern port of Tyre and hundreds of artillery rounds crashed across the border from Israel, killing 10 people, including a Jordanian.

Three people died in air strikes in the eastern Bekaa Valley, Lebanese security sources said.

Not yet, Condi. Not yet.

UPDATE: It's time.

President George W. Bush said on Friday that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will return to the Middle East on Saturday for more talks about the conflict in southern Lebanon.

No word on when her credibility will arrive in the region.