War (of Words) with Syria
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Wednesday, Apr 16, 2003
[Softer tone on Syria from Rumsfeld yesterday. Perhaps Rumsfeld has decided to let State run foreign policy?]
Defense Link -- April 15
Rumsfeld/Meyer Briefing
Q: -- saying, in effect, to Syria to cease and desist aiding and abetting those of the Saddam regime and also in building or harboring weapons of mass destruction.
The bottom-line question is, specifically -- underline the word "specifically" -- how does the Bush administration intend to make that happen? How can you prevent Syria from doing these things?
SEC. RUMSFELD: I don't have anything else to add on that. The President's spoken on it. Secretary Powell has spoken on it. I'll leave that to them.
[Later in briefing.]
Q: But given -- if I could follow up, but given Syria's support for terrorism, is there a concern that Iraqis could in fact -- former regime leaders could use Syria as a haven from which to plot and carry out terrorist attacks?
SEC. RUMSFELD: The -- I don't have anything else to say about Syria. The president's been discussing it. Secretary Powell's been discussing it. I've discussed it. And I don't know what one can add. Obviously, the people in Iraq who ran that government are on our list. And we'd like to have them. And we'll get a lot of them. We may even get most of them over time. And life will go on.
Reuters -- April 16
Egypt says Israel behind U.S. pressure on Syria
CAIRO - A senior adviser to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak accused Israel on Wednesday of instigating a campaign of U.S. threats against Syria to force Damascus to make political concessions to the Jewish state.
Osama el-Baz also urged Israel, in remarks carried by the official Middle East News Agency (MENA), to prepare to withdraw from occupied Arab lands.
"Concerning threats to Syria, Baz said the threats were aimed at pressuring Syria and twisting its arm to go along with certain proposals..., explaining that Israel was the instigator," MENA said.
Baz urged Israel not to waste the chance for "a true co-existence with the Arabs", adding that Israel must be ready to withdraw completely from the Golan Heights, captured from Syria in the 1967 Middle East war.
[The al Queda/Syria story broken by Time/Europe has some legs.]
LA Times via San Francisco Chronicle -- April 16
Italian police link Syria to al Qaeda extremists
Nation served as way station for terror recruits, probe finds
by Sebastian Rotella
Milan -- Syria has functioned as a hub for an al Qaeda network that moved Islamic extremists and funds from Italy to northeastern Iraq, where the recruits fought alongside the recently defeated Ansar al-Islam terrorist group,
according to an Italian investigation.
Herald Sun (Australia) -- April 17
US renews its attack on Syria
By PHILLIP COOREY in New York
Arab diplomats convened a meeting at the United Nations and accused the US of backing Israel, which has nuclear weapons.
The diplomats said they would ask the UN Security Council to adopt a resolution declaring the Middle East a "zone free of weapons of mass destruction".
"The only party in the region with weapons of mass destruction is Israel," said Syrian envoy Fayssal Mekdad after the meeting.
Reuters -- April 16
Syria Says Willing to Work with U.S. to Help Iraqis
By Inal Ersan
DAMASCUS (Reuters) - Syria said on Wednesday it was willing to cooperate with the United States in the interest of Iraqis but would not close the offices of militant Palestinian groups, one of Washington's long-standing demands.
"Syria will always cooperate in things that serve the Iraqi people's interests," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Buthaina Shaaban said.
Syrian Foreign Minister Farouq al-Shara said his government was willing to sign a treaty making the entire Middle East free of weapons of mass destruction.
[Discussion of arms control in general, and how that applies to Syria.]
Council of Foreign Relations, via New York Times -- April 15
Q&A: After Iraq, Pressure on Syria?
In an article you wrote for Arms Control Today, you express concern that the administration is focusing more on the countries that possess weapons of mass destruction than on the weapons themselves. Can you expound on that a bit?
The administration has correctly identified a number of key problems with the international non-proliferation regime, including the difficulty of enforcing many of these treaties. The administration is right; for far too long, we've let violators get away with these violations, or allowed the treaties to mask clandestine programs that countries were conducting.
But I fear that [administration officials] have lurched too far in the other direction, weakening the international rule of law in the process, and perhaps gone so far as to now downgrade the role of the United Nations in this process. By focusing on what they think are the key proliferation violators--Iran, Iraq, and North Korea--[U.S. officials] risk ignoring the proliferation problems that are created by other countries that have large stockpiles of nuclear, chemical, or in some case biological weapons--including Pakistan, India, and Israel--and the prominent role that nuclear weapons play in our own national security strategy.
This creates a double standard in the world, where some countries are allowed to have these weapons, while others are not. It's a strategy of picking and choosing good guys and bad guys, which in my view will ultimately fail, in part because the good guys and bad guys keep changing. In one decade we may be allowing or even encouraging a country to have these weapons and in another decade we may find that that country is now a threat to our own security. Remember, Iraq and Iran used to be good guys. We helped both of those countries develop their deadly arsenals. Pakistan is a good guy now. That country is deeply troubled, and is in a profoundly unstable area of the world. There's no guarantee of where Pakistan is going in the future.
The Age (Australia) -- April 16
Bush bomb plotter seen in Syria
A suspected high-ranking operative of the Iraqi intelligence service who is believed to have played a key role in a 1993 plot to assassinate [former] US president George [H.W.] Bush has been spotted in Syria.
Faruq Hijazi, whose last official post was Saddam Hussein's ambassador to Tunis, flew to Damascus on a commercial jet in an apparent attempt to seek refuge in the country following the toppling of the Iraqi government by US forces, said a US official, who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity.
[Assessment of Syria's military strength's and weaknesses.]
Slate -- April 15
Assad's Situation
Syria's military machine may be hollow—but it isn't harmless.
By Fred Kaplan
After the Israelis stripped bare the myth of Syrian defenses in 1982, Hafez Assad abandoned his goal of achieving "strategic parity" with Israel and instead aimed for "strategic deterrence." To that end, he built up huge stockpiles of biological and especially chemical weapons—including an arsenal of missiles with sufficient range to reach Israeli cities, as well as bombs and artillery shells to kill enemy troops on the battlefield.
Australian Broadcast Corporation -- April 15
Interview with Alexander Downer, Foreign Minister of Australia
KERRY O'BRIEN: But in this new pre-emptive age, why isn't war at the end of the chain, if Syria doesn't respond to America's warnings in the way America wants it to?
ALEXANDER DOWNER: Well, never be too rapid in making foreign policy by analogy, as I often say that to people.
Look, in this particular case, there are Security Council resolutions.
There hasn't been 12 years of endeavours to get Syria to disarm from chemical and biological weapons.
The circumstances are not directly analogous with Iraq.
And that conclusion shouldn't be drawn.
But that's not to say that the Americans aren't right to have concerns about Syria.
New York Times -- April 14
Syria Harbors Iraqis and Grants Transit to Hezbollah, U.S. Asserts
By DON VAN NATTA Jr. and DOUGLAS JEHL
WASHINGTON — Syria is allowing some members of Hezbollah, a Shiite Muslim militant group based in Lebanon, to travel from Syrian-controlled southern Lebanon to Iraq, current and former United States intelligence officials said today.
[More on Hezbollah.]
Daily Star -- April 15
Hizbullah warns of fallout from US regional plans
Maurice Kaldawi
A senior Hizbullah official warned Monday that fallout from the US-led war in Iraq may soon affect Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Iran and the region.
Sheikh Naim Qassem, deputy secretary-general of Hizbullah, was speaking to reporters after visiting Aram I Keshishian, Armenian Orthodox Catholicos of the House of Celicia, at his seat in Antelias.
Qassem said the visit was part
of a “big tour” by Hizbullah officials involving religious and political leaders and designed to discuss developments concerning Lebanon in particular.
“Time has proved that the American steps in Iraq are the beginning of steps covering the whole region and providing an appropriate cover for Israeli designs,” Qassem said.
“(Israeli Prime Minister) Ariel Sharon is talking about the favorable chances he is expecting from the aggression on Iraq. In addition, there are accusations against Syria that it possesses weapons of mass destruction. This confirms that the Iraqi step is an American crossing over to other steps covering Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Iran and the whole region,” he said.
He added that what happened in Iraq “does not mean it can happen again in other spots, because the circumstances are different and so are the governments.”
Accordingly, we cannot prevent a possible danger but we can prevent events which others think of realizing, he said.
Replying to a question about the recent “campaign against Damascus,” Qassem said: “We and Syria are in the same trench and will remain united in confronting challenges.”
“We consider this American campaign to be aimed to weaken the Syrian and Lebanese position and an attempt to break the relationship between the two countries,” he added.
[Discussion of Hezbollah defiance. Review of Mofaz's plan to present Israel's demands to Syria via US.]
The Daily Star
Hizbullah: ‘Whatever happens, we are ready’
by Nicholas Blanford
The Hizbullah fighter, one of three manning an observation post on Sheikh Abbad Hill, ignored the taunts of “Terrorist! Terrorist!” from an unseen Israeli soldier in the giant concrete compound on the other side of the border fence, and simply said: “Whatever happens, we are ready.”
[More detail on Hezbollah reaction than carried in BBC story posted below.]
Al Bawaba -- April 15
Hizbullah dismisses US threats against Syria
Hizbullah believes US pressure on Syria and Iran will not be translated into military action and is only a tool for pressuring those opposed to US designs in the region.
The political adviser to Hizbullah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, Hajj Hussein Khalil, told The Daily Star in an interview, published on Tuesday, that the US pressure was “nothing new.”
[Only a few questions on Syria in today's White House briefing. Quoted below is perhaps the most pointed exchange. This is in sharp contrast to the April 14th briefing which was peppered with questions about Syria. I find it surprising that their were no references to today's Guardian article, which I read late last night.]
White House Briefing -- April 15
www.whitehouse.gov/news/briefings/
Q Why is the focus on Syria?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, the focus is on Syria is because Syria is the nation that's harboring Iraqis.
Q Do you have proof of that?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, certainly, we would not have said it, Secretary Powell would not have said it, the President wouldn't have said it.
Q Why don't you present the proof, then?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, as always, Helen, this is an old argument. We have information that comes into our hands for a variety of means. We prefer to keep getting that information. We feel confident --
Q Don't think it will enhance your credibility if you showed us?
MR. FLEISCHER: I think our credibility is rather strong.
[Concise review of official and press responses.]
Utusan Express (Malaysia) -- April 15
World leaders, press alarmed as US turns sights to Syria
PARIS - World leaders and press reacted with a mixture of caution and dismay on Tuesday to the United States' escalating threats to Syria, which it accuses of harbouring Iraqi leaders and chemical weapons.
[Broadly ranging article on Syria, Iraq, Chalabi, Abbas. Covers Rumsfeld, Powell and Syrian comments which were covered in posts below. Gulf Cooperation Council weighs in.]
Washington Post -- April 15
U.S. Keeps Diplomatic Pressure on Syria
By Thomas W. Lippman
U.S. military officials said, Special Forces have stepped up their activities along Iraq's border with Syria, trying to cut off the possible escape of Iraqi officials or the transport of banned weapons.
The six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, a key U.S. ally in the Middle East, rejected U.S. accusations that Syria was developing chemical weapons and harboring Iraqi officials and urged the United States to get out of Iraq as quickly as possible.
"We think the threat to Syria should stop. We don't think Syria wants a war or to escalate any situation," Qatari Foreign Minister Hamad Bin Jasim Thani told reporters after an emergency meeting of foreign ministers of the six Gulf states in the Saudi capital. "We reject any infringement of Syria's security. . . . We are watching this with great care and if there is any problem to be solved it is to be solved by direct negotiations by both sides."
Ha'aretz -- April 16
Dozens of senior Iraqis flee to Syria
By Ze'ev Schiff
Dozens, and perhaps hundreds, of Iraqi officials escaped to Syria, according to fresh assessments by intelligence organizations including the U.S., British and Israeli services, which were surprised by the large numbers involved after initial estimates that only a few dozen made their way to Syria during or prior to the war.
Arabic News -- April 15
Mubarak discusses with Bush the Iraqi issue, threats on Syria
Well- informed diplomatic sources in Cairo said that the Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, is seeking to contain the statements and threats launched by American officials, in which they accused Syria of supporting terrorism, seeking to own chemical weapons and harboring former officials in the regime of the toppled Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.
[Also covered in Mubarak-Bush conversation were the Israel Palestine roadmap and the situation in Iraq.]
[Tuesday's comments from Sharon. Support for Syria from Iran and Spain.]
Al Jazeera -- April 15
Syria dominates Middle East agenda
Syria continued to dominate the world’s agenda on Tuesday amid a flurry of statements and diplomatic manoeuvrings.
Israel’s Prime Minister Ariel Sharon weighed into the war of words demanding that greater pressure be brought upon the recalcitrant” country by the US to rid it of Palestinian "terrorists" while Iran threatened that any US-military action against Syria would be construed as an attack against Iran.
Through the escalating wrangle, Syria has struck a consistent note of indignation alleging that hardline “Zionists” had infiltrated the corridors of power in Washington and taken over its Middle East policy.
Israel’s Prime Minister was the harshest on Syria on the day, accusing its president, Bashar al-Asad of being a “dangerous" man, "whose judgment was impaired.”
[Comments from several Lebanese officials.]
The Daily Star -- April 15
Lebanese leaders stand by Syria against US
Speaker calls on america to respect rights of other countries
by Khalil Fleihan
Lebanese leaders are standing by Syria against charges from US officials that Damascus has been supporting the regime of Saddam Hussein and possesses weapons of mass destruction.
Speaker Nabih Berri on Monday called for a halt to such statements from officials in the US administration.
[More on the pipeline.]
UPI -- April 15
Iraq, Syria had big plans for oil
By Hil Anderson
LOS ANGELES -- The coalition's shutdown of a crude pipeline linking northern Iraq with the Syrian port of Banias for now has pulled the plug on the ties that Damascus had forged with Saddam Hussein's regime in the energy sector.
[Rumsfeld confirms pipeline story. Review of recent comments from the US, Syria, Israel, Spain, UK, Hezbollah, UN.]
BBC -- April 15
US 'blocks' Syria pipeline
Ties between the US and Syria have long been strained
The US says it has blocked a pipeline used to pump Iraqi oil to Syria, in volume that allegedly violated UN sanctions.
There were fresh rumours last week that Syria had been importing large amounts of Iraqi oil in contravention of sanctions on Iraq, when Syrian crude oil deliveries fell sharply after a pipeline was thought to have been bombed.
The disclosure can only add to increasingly strained relations between the US and Syria, which on Tuesday rebuffed recent US allegations that it is developing chemical weapons.
Syria said such claims were designed to further the interests of Israel.
Arab countries, Russia and the European Union have also condemned the US for making threats against Syria over the war in Iraq.
But on Tuesday, White House spokesman Ari Fleischer kept up the pressure, saying "the focus is on Syria because Syria is the nation that is harbouring Iraqis" - a reference to the US claim that some of Saddam Hussein's allies may have fled to the country.
[A review of recent US and Israeli rhetoric directed towards Syria.]
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty -- April 15
U.S./Syria: What's Behind Washington's War Of Words?
By Jeffrey Donovan
"The president, the vice president, the secretary of state, the secretary of defense, the national security adviser and the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff have all issued threats and warnings to Syria over the last week. This is unheard-of with respect to U.S.-Syrian relations. Never before have those high-level officials made those kinds of statements."
Other Syria Watching Bloggers
Sam Rosenfeld
Calpundit
[Another article on Powell's Tuesday comments. Rice's and Annan's comments from Monday are quoted below.]
AP via The Free Lance-Star, Fredericksburg, VA -- April 15
Powell Tones Down Rhetoric Toward Syria
By BARRY SCHWEID
"It is time to sign on to a different kind of Middle East," national security adviser Condoleezza Rice said Monday as Syria took another public pasting from the administration.
Rice, in a parallel thrust at Damascus, said Syria's support for terrorism and "harboring the remnants of the Iraqi regime" were unacceptable. But she indicated the administration was not contemplating military action.
In New York, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said he was "concerned that recent statements directed at Syria should not contribute to a wider destabilization in a region already affected heavily by the war in Iraq."
[New comments from Powell today. "Imposing democratic values" is an interesting oxymoron.]
Sky News -- April 15
POWELL: CONCERNS
Colin Powell, the US Secretary of State, has said the US has no war plan to attack either Syria or Iran.
"We have concerns about Syria," he said. "We have let Syria know of our concerns. We also have concerns about some of the policies of Iran.
"We have made the Iranians fully aware of our concerns," Mr Powell said.
"But there is no list, there is no war plan right now to go attack someone else either for the purpose of overthrowing their leadership or for the purpose of imposing democratic values," Powell said.
[This Guardian exclusive is causing a buzz today.]
The Guardian -- April 15
Bush vetoes Syria war plan
Julian Borger in Washington, Michael White, Ewen MacAskill in Kuwait City and Nicholas Watt
The White House has privately ruled out suggestions that the US should go to war against Syria following its military success in Iraq, and has blocked preliminary planning for such a campaign in the Pentagon, the Guardian learned yesterday.
In the past few weeks, the US defence secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, ordered contingency plans for a war on Syria to be reviewed following the fall of Baghdad.
Meanwhile, his undersecretary for policy, Doug Feith, and William Luti, the head of the Pentagon's office of special plans, were asked to put together a briefing paper on the case for war against Syria, outlining its role in supplying weapons to Saddam Hussein, its links with Middle East terrorist groups and its allegedly advanced chemical weapons programme. Mr Feith and Mr Luti were both instrumental in persuading the White House to go to war in Iraq.
Mr Feith and other conservatives now playing important roles in the Bush administration, advised the Israeli government in 1996 that it could "shape its strategic environment... by weakening, containing and even rolling back Syria".
However, President George Bush, who faces re-election next year with two perilous nation-building projects, in Afghanistan and Iraq, on his hands, is said to have cut off discussion among his advisers about the possibility of taking the "war on terror" to Syria.