'The United States has resisted international pressure to support U.N. calls to end or at least suspend the fighting in the Middle East to stop the casualties, send in aid and allow negotiations.U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan delivered a series of proposals to the U.N. Security Council on Thursday but the United States, which is key to any plan, rejected a cease-fire even before the U.N. leader met Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice at a private dinner in New York.'
