For days now Tony Blar has resisted demands that he calls for "an immediate ceasefire". Now, after the tragedy of Qana, he is calling for "a ceasefire as soon as possible" which sounds awfully similar. Has he changed his position then?
The answer is no and yes.
No because he has not altered his view that those calling for an immediate ceasefire have no idea how they would bring it about. This is what he derides as "commentary" on events rather than working to shape them. He still insists that a ceasefire must come from both sides, that it must stem from a new UN resolution and that it must lead to a long lasting peace and not just be a temporary truce.
Yes, though, because he has moved to end all doubts that secretly he wants Israel to carry on its military campaign until it defeats Hezbollah.
He will still not utter the words of condemnation that Jack Straw - his former foreign secretary - has, or indeed leaders like President Chirac of France did today. This, we're told, is because he wants to retain influence with the players in this conflict.
Today he's focused his energies on talking to the Lebanese. After the tragedy of Qana it is easier to see why they may want to agree to a ceasefire but harder to see why Israel will. Tony Blair's influence in Jerusalem is limited. His best hope is to persuade the Americans to persuade them.
San Francisco: Will it, once again, have taken a tragedy to inject real urgency into the search for peace? This morning for the first time "urgent" stopped being a word Tony Blair deployed and was conveyed by his tone and his demeanour. Speaking to us in his hotel suite in San Francisco he declared that what had happened showed that "the situation simply cannot continue". I think he meant it.
He was woken this morning with the news of the of the single bloodiest attack in Israel's 19-day-old war on Hezbollah guerrillas. Soon after he called Lebanon's prime minister to express his sorrow and to discuss the diplomatic way forward. Then he marched through the lobby of the Fairmont Hotel and past my camera, turning only to promise to speak to us soon. His destination was the Sunday morning service at the Grace Cathedral just a few hundred yards up the road.
On his return he made clear that he does now believe the fighting has to stop. He said that he would be making urgent calls and having negotiations with other world leaders. He has promised to call Lebanon's prime minister again. His aim is a UN resolution that produces a ceasefire on both sides. It will include backing - in principle at least - for a new UN stabilisation force (although the detail of who serves and what their specific mandate is may have to follow). It will repeat UN Security Resolution 1559 calling on foreign forces to withdraw from Lebanon and for militias to be disarmed. In reality, this is likely to mean incorporating Hezbollah into the Lebanese army and not disbanding them. It may need also to make provision for prisoner exchanges.
We are a long way here from the carnage in Qana but Tony Blair wants to be at the centre of the talking designed to prevent another tragedy like it.
