War (of Words) with Syria

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Monday, Dec 22, 2003

Iran and Syria are next to feel the heat
Telegraph -- December 22, 2003

By Benedict Brogan and Anton La Guardia
Tony Blair will seek to use the diplomatic breakthrough with Libya to secure similar concessions on weapons of mass destruction from Iran and Syria. Ministers believe that his New Year offensive will restore his fortunes.

Secret "back channel" talks, which have been going on for months with both countries, will be stepped up as London and Washington try to capitalise on the surprise U-turn by Col Muammar Gaddafi, the Libyan dictator.
- mark 12-22-2003 8:14 am [link]

Now, Syria is in Washington's sights for alleged weapons programme
AFP via SpaceWar -- December 21, 2003

With Libya's renunciation of weapons of mass destruction and Iran's acceptance of tough new inspections of its nuclear programme, Syria finds itself more than ever in Washington's sights for its own alleged weapons programme
- mark 12-22-2003 8:09 am [link]

Thursday, Oct 30, 2003

[The WaPo article referred to below.]

Commanders Doubt Syria Is Entry Point
Officers See No Sign Of Foreign Fighters
Washington Post -- October 28, 2003

"If somebody is saying the Ho Chi Minh Trail runs through my area of operations, I'm going to tell them they're wrong," said Lt. Col. Joseph Buche, commander of the 3rd Brigade of the 101st Airborne's 3rd Battalion.
- mark 10-30-2003 8:03 am [link]

[Did anyone remember to brief the Dubster?]

US commanders: Claims about illegal infiltration from Syria to Iraq - ''unfounded''
Al Bawaba -- October 29, 2003

Commanders of U.S. military forces responsible for monitoring the border between Iraq and Syria told The Washington Post there is no evidence from human intelligence sources or radar surveillance aircraft indicating that significant numbers of foreign fighters are infiltrating into Iraq illegally.

U.S. President, George Bush, on Tuesday blamed foreign fighters for four suicide car bombings in Baghdad on Monday that killed at least 40 people.

Under a project that the U.S. military calls Operation Chamberlain, sophisticated Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (JSTARS) planes are gathering information about vehicle movement and relaying it to ground forces.

Commanders from the 101st Airborne have told the newspaper that neither the aircraft nor human intelligence sources show significant infiltration from Syria. "Concerns about illegal infiltration along the Syrian border appear unfounded," the officers told The Post.
- mark 10-30-2003 7:54 am [link] [1 ref]

Syria slams ICRC attack as harming Iraqi interests
Reuters -- October 29, 2003


- mark 10-30-2003 7:46 am [link]

[A hunch, you say? Lock and load!]

U.S. VOICES ASSESSMENT OF WMD TO SYRIA
Middle East Newsline -- October 29, 2003

WASHINGTON [MENL] -- For the first time, the U.S. intelligence community has released an assessment that Iraqi weapons of mass destruction were transferred to neighboring Syria in the weeks prior to the U.S.-led war against the Saddam Hussein regime.

U.S. officials said the assessment was based on satellite images of convoys of Iraqi trucks that poured into Syria in February and March 2003. The officials said the intelligence community assessed that the trucks contained missiles and WMD components banned by the United Nations Security Council.

The U.S. intelligence assessment was discussed publicly for the first time by the director of the National Imagery and Mapping Agency in a briefing in Washington on Tuesday. James Clapper, a retired air force general and a leading member of the U.S. intelligence community, said he linked the disappearance of Iraqi WMD with the huge number of Iraqi trucks that entered Syria before and during the U.S. military campaign to topple the Saddam regime.

"I think personally that the [Iraqi] senior leadership saw what was coming and I think they went to some extraordinary lengths to dispose of the evidence," Clapper said. "I'll call it an educated hunch."
- mark 10-30-2003 7:44 am [link]

Syria to get Iranian help amid US sanctions threat
AFP via Borneo Bulletin -- October 29, 2003


- mark 10-30-2003 7:38 am [link]

Syria, China hail bilateral relations
China View -- October 29, 2003


- mark 10-30-2003 7:35 am [link]

U.S. says WMD went from Iraq to Syria
UPI via Washington Times -- October 29, 2003


- mark 10-30-2003 7:33 am [link]

[Oh yeah Mr. Lebanese politician, well NRO wants you dead.]

“If You Harbor a Terrorist”
Striking Syria to save Iraq
National Review Online -- October 27, 2003


- mark 10-30-2003 7:31 am [link]