"Obviously, (we're) interested in taking a look at it (the offer)," White House press secretary Tony Snow told reporters in Crawford, Texas, where U.S. President George W. Bush is taking a 10-day vacation.

He said the White House would not regard the offer as a setback to negotiations over a cease-fire resolution among members of the UN Security Council.

However, Snow said the United States does not think Lebanon is ready to handle the job on its own.

"The administration understands that the Lebanese armed forces are going to need some help, and we're working with allies to try to figure out the proper way to do it," he said.

"We certainly welcome any help in trying to figure out how to supplement the Lebanese armed forces and get us to one of the key goals in Lebanon, which is to permit the government of Lebanon to assert full control over the south and prevent Hezbollah from asserting any kind of control, " added Snow.

He was echoed by State Department spokesman Sean McCormark, who said in Washington that the Lebanese offer is "an important proposal" and a "necessary step for peace."

The issue of who will patrol southern Lebanon has become the dominant sticking point in cease-fire negotiations at the United Nations.

Lebanon has rejected a draft UN resolution sponsored by France and the United States on the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, because it does not call explicitly the withdrawal of Israeli troops fighting Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.