War (of Words) with Syria
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Thursday, May 08, 2003
Bomb targets Dutch evangelist in Lebanon
UPI -- May 7
BEIRUT -- Security authorities in Lebanon stepped up efforts Wednesday to head off anti-Western attacks after a bomb targeting a Dutch evangelist and his family exploded overnight outside their northern Lebanon home.
Another intended target was the U.S. ambassador to Lebanon, Vincent Battle, who was supposed to die in a rocket attack on his car some weeks ago, security sources said. Lebanese General Prosecutor Judge Adnan Addoum confirmed the report, saying Khaled al-Ali -- was arrested last week in connection with bombings targeting U.S. franchise restaurants in Lebanon -- confessed that his Muslim fundamentalist network was planning to assassinate Battle.
Kerry calls for pressure on Syria and Lebanon, Dean agrees
AP via the Charleston Gazette -- May 7
By WILL LESTER
WASHINGTON -- Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry urged President Bush to label Syria and Lebanon "money-laundering concerns'' following reports that $1 billion stolen from Iraq may have been transported to Syria.
Kerry got support in that request from an unexpected source, Howard Dean, a competitor for the nomination and a frequent critic.
Gul commends Syria's stances on ME peace
Arabic News -- May 7
Syria's Turkish Premier and Foreign Minister, Abdullah Gul, underlined the correctness of the Syrian position towards the peace process in the region.
In a statement in Ankara on Tuesday, Gul stressed the necessity of implementation of the United Nations resolutions stipulating the full Israeli withdrawal from the occupied Arab territories including the Golan Heights and the establishment of a Palestinian state as a condition for realizing just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East.
He expressed comfort over the results of the U.S. Secretary of State, Colin Powell's recent talks in Damascus.
He expected that the Syrian-Turkish relations will witness important developments during the forthcoming stage.
Gul stressed the necessity of Turkey's dialogue with Syria and Iran for maintaining Iraq's unity, independence, sovereignty and security.
Previous Stories:
Jumhuriate: Turkey for closer relations with Syria (5/3/2003)
Al-Shara - Gul's press conference on Iraq, developments (4/30/2003)
Syrian Turkish parliamentary talks (4/30/2003)
[More on Wolfowitz's arrogant foray into Turkish politics.]
Turkish premier brushes aside criticism by U.S. Deputy
Defense Secretary Wolfowitz
AP via Boston Globe -- May 7
ISTANBUL, Turkey -- Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday rejected U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz's call that Turkey concede it made a mistake by not opening its doors to the U.S. military during the Iraq war.
''Turkey, from the very beginning, never made any mistakes, and has taken all the necessary steps in all sincerity,'' Erdogan told reporters.
In an interview broadcast Tuesday on CNN-Turk, Wolfowitz criticized Ankara for its refusal to allow the United States to base troops in Turkey or use its military bases during the war. That refusal, which came amid strong Turkish public opposition to the war, has increased tension between the two NATO allies.
Wolfowitz said he wanted Turkey to change its attitude.
''Let's have a Turkey that steps up and says, 'We made a mistake, we should have known how bad things were in Iraq, but we know now. Let's figure out how we can be as helpful as possible to the Americans,''' Wolfowitz said. ''I'd like to see a different sort of attitude than I have yet detected.''
Secretary of State Colin Powell, however, insisted that while Washington had been ''disappointed'' by Turkish decision before the war, ''they're working with us now in a very cooperative way.''
''Notwithstanding that disappointment ... we have a good partnership with Turkey, and I'm sure it will continue to grow in the years ahead,'' he told reporters at U.N. headquarters in New York.
Turkey's deputy chief of military staff, Gen. Yasar Buyukanit, rejected Wolfowitz's assertions.
''The Turkish Armed Forces always carries out its duties in a democratic way. It has done so until now and will continue to do so,'' he told reporters. ''It would not be normal in a democratic country for the armed forces to intervene after a motion goes to parliament and is rejected there.''
Turks feared the war would derail Turkey's frail economic recovery and destabilize the region.
Turkey allowed the United States to use its airspace after the war had begun.
Wolfowitz also called for the predominantly Muslim nation to follow Washington's line in its relations with neighboring Iran and Syria.
Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul recently visited Syria, and Iran's First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref paid a visit to Turkey, stoking concerns that Turkey's government, formed by a party with roots in political Islam, is moving away from its U.S. ties.
[Provisional Secretary of State Wolfowitz admonishes Turkish nation, calls on Turkish military to exert greater influence over political decisions.]
US wants Turkey on side over Iran, Syria
The US Deputy Defence Secretary also criticised Turkey for not doing more to support its ally in the recent war against Iraq.
NTV-MSNBC -- May 7
A senior Bush Administration official has called on Turkey to give greater backing to Washington’s hard line policies regarding Iran and Syria.
Speaking to Turkish television Tuesday, US Deputy Defence Secretary Paul Wolfowitz also said that the US had been disappointed in the failure of Ankara to support allied efforts in the war against neighbouring Iraq.
In particular he singled out the Turkish armed forces for not being more decisive when Turkey was debating whether or not to allow US troops to be deployed inside the country as part of efforts to open a second front against Iraq.
“I think for whatever reason, they did not play the strong leadership role,” Wolfowitz said.
The Deputy Defence Secretary said that Turkey should now work to rebuild its ties with the US and give greater support to Washington’s position regarding both Syria and Iran, which it claims give aid to terrorism and, in the case of Iran, may be trying to develop weapons of mass destruction.
“… let’s have a Turkey that steps up and says, ‘We made a mistake, we should have known how bad things were in Iraq, but we know now. Let’s figure out how we can be as helpful as possible to the Americans’,” Wolfowitz said.
Rice warns Syria on Iraqi weapons of mass destruction
AP via San Francisco Chronicle -- May 7
MADRID, Spain --
The United States would be forced to act if it discovered that Damascus allowed Iraq to hide weapons of mass destruction in Syria during the war, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice said in an interview [with Spanish press] published Wednesday.
[Article also includes denial of a Syrian bid to resume talks with Israel prior to US invasion of Iraq.]
Syria: U.S. reaffirms Golan Heights return
UPI -- May 7
By Thanaa Imam
DAMASCUS, Syria -- Secretary of State Colin Powell renewed a U.S. commitment to Syria on the return of the Golan Heights as held by Syria in 1967 before being occupied by Israel, a Syrian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said Wednesday.
[The bomb suspects are not a new story. The American-related targets are not new. The link between the bomb suspects and a threat against a specific American official is new. This comes on the heels of a conviction related to al Queda, making it the second "War on Terror" story out of Lebanon since Powell's visit on Saturday. Are we seeing a State v. DoD media war?]
Lebanon Says Bomb Suspects Tried To Kill US Envoy
MSNBC via Overseas Security Advisory Council -- May 7
BEIRUT, May 7 — Lebanese officials said on Wednesday that suspects detained for a series of bomb attacks on Western targets had also tried to kill the U.S. ambassador to the country. In a statement, the army said it had arrested several members of a network blamed for a string of bombings at fast food restaurants over the last year, and accused them of a "failed attempt to assassinate the ambassador of a major power."
A senior security official said the U.S. ambassador to Lebanon had been the target. An embassy spokesperson declined to comment immediately on the report.
"The army intelligence directorate, with the cooperation of the security apparatus of brotherly Syrian forces working in Lebanon, was able to apprehend a number of those who took part in the blasts and other previous terrorist acts," the army statement said.
The Lebanese army said at the weekend it had arrested the head of the network blamed for bombings of fast food restaurants, including a large car bomb which failed to explode outside a Beirut McDonalds in April.
[Another story on UN comments regarding Hezbollah in south Lebanon -- with background and analysis.]
Goksel: Army effectively deployed in South
Official says hizbullah partly to thank for calm
The Daily Star -- May 6
Nicholas Blanford
The Lebanese Army is already deployed effectively along the border with Israel and, with Hizbullah’s help, is responsible for the prevailing calm in South Lebanon, a senior UNIFIL official says.
Timur Goksel told The Daily Star that Hizbullah’s contribution toward months of peace and quiet in southern Lebanon “cannot be ignored at all.”
The veteran peacekeeper’s assertion is certain to be controversial, coming amid strong calls by the United States for Hizbullah to be removed from the border district and replaced by army troops.
[snip]
Goksel said that the calm along the border was due to the tight coordination between the military and Hizbullah.
“As far as I am concerned, (the army) is already in South Lebanon, very much so,” Goksel said. “Today’s calm in South Lebanon is due to the Lebanese Army, Lebanese intelligence and Hizbullah … Hizbullah’s local intelligence-gathering has no match. Their input cannot be ignored at all.”
[A brief tangent into another Arab country which has a complicated relationship with the US.]
Saudi Arabia: The pendulum swings
Asia Times -- May 7
By Syed Saleem Shahzad
KARACHI - The road map for peace in the Middle East envisages as a final destination an independent Palestinian state. But along the way, it will also certainly call for the curtailment of organizations such as Hamas and the Islamic Jehad, which in turn will put pressure on the main sponsor of these groups, Saudi Arabia.
Over the past few months, sections of the Saudi media, some circles of the royal family and the clergy and intellectuals have speculated that after Iraq, the US is determined to bring Saudi Arabia to heel.