War (of Words) with Syria
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Sunday, Apr 20, 2003
[A review of the war of words over the past week or so.]
Next Stop: Syria?
The Bush Administration applies the screws to another "rogue nation." What's behind the sudden indictment — and how scared should Damascus be?
Time -- April 28
By ROMESH RATNESAR
Just days after U.S. troops entered Baghdad, the Bush Administration was already contemplating a new scrape. A group of the President's top foreign-policy advisers — including Condoleezza Rice, Donald Rumsfeld and Colin Powell — gathered in the White House to discuss the road ahead. Only half the meeting was devoted to developments in Iraq. The rest of the session was spent debating how to tackle a fresh target: Syria.
Hawks recycle arguments for Iraq war against Syria
The Washington Times -- April 16
By David R. Sands
The talk over war with Syria increasingly resembles a spring rerun of the debate over war with Iraq, with virtually the same cast of characters and plot.
Neoconservative Richard Perle, a leading hawk in the Iraq debate, yesterday called for Congress to pass a "Syrian Liberation Act" modeled on the 1998 law that made regime change in Baghdad official U.S. policy.
via a warblogging post with commentary and links
[Review of Hezbollah speech from several days ago, plus background on the organization.]
Hezbollah Vows Anew to Target Americans
Bush officials, fearing attacks, debate whether to go after the group and backers Iran and Syria.
Los Angeles Times -- April 17
By Josh Meyer
WASHINGTON -- Hezbollah, a militant Islamic organization backed by Iran and Syria, has issued a new call to arms against Americans in the Middle East, touching off fears of terrorist attacks and debate withinthe Bush administration over whether to move more aggressively against the group and its key sponsors.
The military wing of Hezbollah, long considered by the U.S. to be among the world's most dangerous terrorist groups, has focused largely on Israel because of its past occupation of Hezbollah's homeland in Lebanon and other contested territory. But the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq has triggered a spate of anti-American rhetoric from the Shiite organization and its leader, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah.
Bush says Syria's `getting the message' on Iraq
AP via San Francisco Chronicle -- April 20
SCOTT LINDLAW
FORT HOOD, Texas --
President Bush said Sunday that Syria is "getting the message" that it should not cooperate with the ousted regime of Saddam Hussein but should help the United States capture fleeing Iraqi leaders.
The president lowered recently intense rhetoric against Iraq's neighbor to the west. Tensions between the United States and Syria escalated after reports surfaced that members of Saddam's deposed government had crossed the border to flee the U.S.-led war.
Syria, Egypt Leaders Discuss Iraq, U.S. Pressure
Reuters -- April 20
By Inal Ersan
DAMASCUS - Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak met Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad on Sunday for talks on postwar Iraq and tension between Damascus and Washington over Syria's alleged chemical weapons.
"Syria expects Egypt to use its good offices with Washington to help defuse the tension," a diplomatic source said.
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.