War (of Words) with Syria
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Sunday, Apr 20, 2003
Assad assures U.S. congressmen that Syria will not give asylum to wanted Iraqis
AP via San Francisco Chronicle -- April 20
DONNA ABU-NASR
DAMASCUS --
Syria will not give asylum to Iraqis wanted for war crimes and will expel any Iraqi who crosses into the country, President Bashar Assad told two U.S. congressmen Sunday, the lawmakers said.
Reps. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., and Darrell Issa, R-Calif., were the first U.S. officials to meet Assad since the recent escalation of U.S.-Syrian tensions. In an interview with The Associated Press, they described a calm Assad who is eager to address U.S. concerns raised since the Iraq war.
US Deputy Secretary of State: Syria may face sanctions; Congressman: Syria wants dialogue
Al Bawaba -- April 20
Syria will face "sanctions" if it continues to support movements such as Lebanon's Hizbullah and the Palestinian group Islamic Jihad, US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said.
"If Syria decided to maintain its support for terrorism, particularly of Hizbullah and Islamic Jihad in Palestine, we will be forced to impose sanctions and other political measures on it," Armitage told the Al-Khaleej daily, published in the United Arab Emirates
[Discussion of how several factors may affect the road map: US-UK relations, US-Syria relations, Palestinian internal politics, Israeli internal politics.]
Syria Tensions May Stall Plan
Forward -- April 18
CHEMI SHALEV
JERUSALEM — Rising tensions between Washington and Damascus may serve to delay the launch of the much-anticipated "road map" to Israeli-Palestinian peace, senior Israeli officials told the Forward this week.
An escalation in U.S.-Syrian tensions is likely to heat up Israel's northern border, the officials said, forcing Washington to concentrate on yet another Middle East crisis and to postpone the new initiative on the Israeli-Palestinian front.
[Profile of Bashar al-Assad.]
Behind Warnings to Damascus: Reassessment of Younger Assad
Forward (New York) -- April 18
By MARC PERELMAN
A sudden flurry of U.S. warnings to Syria in recent days indicates that Washington has undertaken what Israel and its supporters here have been urging for months: a comprehensive reassessment of Syrian ruler Bashar Assad.
Sharon Aide Makes the Case For U.S. Action Against Syria
Forward -- April 18
By ORI NIR
WASHINGTON — Breaking the self-imposed silence it maintained during the buildup to the war with Iraq and throughout the war itself, Israel publicly called on the United States this week to take decisive action against Syria and Iran.
Making the case in Washington was Ephraim Halevy, Prime Minister Sharon's national security advisor, who formerly headed Israel's central intelligence agency, the Mossad. In meetings with senior administration officials, Halevy focused on Syria's weapons of mass destruction and — for the first time — on its young president, Bashar Assad, whom he described as inexperienced, irresponsible, arrogant and brash. Assad, said Halevy, is a potential source of instability in the region, warning that "a miscalculation on his part could have very serious consequences."
On both Iran and Syria, Halevy said: "There are so many measures short of war that could be employed in containing" both countries in their pursuit of weapons of mass destruction and their backing of terrorism.
[Long article reviewing POW situation in Iraq, with coverage of infiltration of Iraq by militants from Syria.]
Fighters From Syria Among Iraqi Prisoners in an American Camp
The New York Times -- April 19
By BERNARD WEINRAUB
SOUTH OF BAGHDAD — In a bleak sun-baked desert field, surrounded by multiple layers of barbed wire, Iraqi prisoners climb off buses and are placed in a holding area for interrogation by military intelligence officers. Each prisoner will be photographed and a database will be searched for clues of his past.
At least three or four new prisoners a day are Syrian, and others are Palestinian, Sudanese or Jordanian. They are sometimes collectively referred to as Syrians here because many entered Iraq from Syria.
"They're obnoxious, arrogant, they have a vendetta," said Captain Murdock, who commands the National Guard unit from Phoenix. "You ask them why they were fighting in Iraq, and they say, `To kill Americans.' Others just say they came to die and kill Americans."
[Analysis of Syria's relationship with resistance/terrorist groups.]
With Iraq War Over, Wariness of U.S. Pervades Syria
Washington Post -- April 19
By Daniel Williams
DAMASCUS -- At a spartan three-story apartment building in a dusty suburb here, members of the Islamic Resistance Movement, known by its Arabic acronym Hamas, idled over sweet tea and wondered how long their stay would last. The Palestinian group, which in recent years has spearheaded attacks on civilians in Israel, has long maintained an office here. Now, its presence has become part of a diplomatic conflict between the Bush administration and the Syrian government of President Bashar Assad.
The United States views Hamas's office as evidence that Syria supports terrorism. It also cites the presence of Islamic Jihad, another Palestinian group, and Hezbollah, the Shiite Muslim guerrilla organization that long fought Israeli occupation forces in south Lebanon. The Israelis pulled out three years ago after suffering casualties there for many years. The Bush administration also accuses Syria of possessing chemical weapons and of giving shelter to fugitives from the government of Saddam Hussein, the deposed Iraqi president.
[Commentary with some nice background links.]
On to Syria! - but not quite yet....
The Lincoln Plawg -- April 18
It's a measure of the ascendancy of the bellophiles in USG that a statement from Powell that the US has no plans to attack Syria is thought to be some kind of news.
via Stand Down
[Sample from an aggregation of regional press editorials.]
New Lebonese Cabinet Anachronistic
L’Orient-Le Jour (Beirut) via The Daily Star -- April 19
The birth of the fifth government headed by Rafik Hariri has received only lukewarm response from the Lebanese press. The new team was described by L’Orient-Le Jour as medieval, anachronistic and obsolete.
“The new government is completely out of phase with what is going on in the region,” the paper said.
At a time when democracy is either being forced on Iraq, the heart of the Arab world, or seeping in to some Gulf countries, “the Syrian tutors and their Lebanese disciples continue to resist” the democratic process. The two countries are “involved in a senseless struggle against the forces of history, common sense and the salvation of the two countries.”
Syrian President Bashar Assad has wasted a good opportunity for introducing reforms to his country’s politics with Lebanon, before introducing corresponding reforms to his country’s domestic politics, the paper added.
[Moderate words of support for Syria and "international law" from Lebanonese and Egyption governments -- followed by less moderate words from Sudan.]
The US accusations / Condemnations
Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) via Lebanon Press -- April 19
Lebanese President, Emil Lahoud has asserted Syria’s and Lebanon’s commitment to the principled stance on the bases of the international legitimacy resolutions.