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| isolated freak | Posted
on 13-Apr-03 11:31 AM
Syria could be next, warns Washington Ed Vulliamy in Washington Sunday April 13, 2003 The Observer The United States has pledged to tackle the Syrian-backed Hizbollah group in the next phase of its 'war on terror' in a move which could threaten military action against President Bashar Assad's regime in Damascus. The move is part of Washington's efforts to persuade Israel to support a new peace settlement with the Palestinians. Washington has promised Israel that it will take 'all effective action' to cut off Syria's support for Hizbollah - implying a military strike if necessary, sources in the Bush administration have told The Observer . Hizbollah is a Shia Muslim organisation based in Lebanon, whose fighters have attacked northern Israeli settlements and harassed occupying Israeli troops to the point of forcing an Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon three years ago. The new US undertaking to Israel to deal with Hizbollah via its Syrian sponsors has been made over recent days during meetings between administration officials and Israeli diplomats in Washington, and Americans talking to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in Jerusalem. It would be part of a deal designed to entice Israel into the so-called road map to peace package that would involve the Jewish state pulling out of the Palestinian West Bank, occupied since 1967. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has so far rejected the road map initiative - charted by the US with its ally, Britain - which also calls for mutual recognition between Israel and a new Palestinian state, structured according to US-backed reforms. The American guarantee would be to take armed action if necessary to cut off Syrian support for Hizbollah, and stop further sponsorship for the group by Iran. 'If you control Iraq, you can affect the Syrian and Iranian sponsorship of Hizbollah, both geographically and politically,' says Ivo Daalder of the Brookings Institution think-tank in Washington. 'The United States will make it very clear, quietly and publicly, that Baathist Syria may come to an end if it does not stop its support of Hizbollah.' The undertaking dovetails conveniently into 'phase three' of what President George Bush calls the 'war on terror' and his pledge to go after all countries accused of harbouring terrorists. It also fits into calls by hawks inside and aligned to the administration who believe that war in Iraq was first stage in a wider war for American control of the region. Threats against Syria come daily out of Washington. Hawks in and close to the Bush White House have prepared the ground for an attack on Syria, raising the spectre of Hizbollah, of alleged Syrian plans to wel come refugees from Saddam Hussein's fallen regime, and of what the administration insists is Syrian support for Iraq during the war. Deputy Defence Secretary Paul Wolfowitz - regarded as the real architect of the Iraqi war and its aftermath - said on Thursday that 'the Syrians have been shipping killers into Iraq to try and kill Americans', adding: 'We need to think about what our policy is towards a country that harbours terrorists or harbours war criminals. 'There will have to be change in Syria, plainly,' said Wolfowitz. Washingtom intelligence sources claim that weapons of mass destruction that Saddam was alleged to have possessed were shipped to Syria after inspectors were sent by the United Nations to find them. One of the chief ideologists behind the war, Richard Perle, yesterday warned that the US would be compelled to act against Syria if it emerged that weapons of mass destruction had been moved there by Saddam's fallen Iraqi regime. |
| maximum20 | Posted
on 13-Apr-03 01:39 PM
I have to say, I'm not particularly surprised. Once US pulled of the whole war with Iraq, unflinched by the millions protesting, I was sure they would not stop with saddam. I'd go as far to say we aer witnessing the birth of another hungry, imperialistic empire. It's approaching it's peak and history teaches us what rises falls. I hope it won't be long before we witness America's demise. |
| Satya | Posted
on 14-Apr-03 09:06 AM
The Bush gang is like a mad elephant. It will destroy everything that stands on its way. Bush gang has already started war against Syria, though not yet with bombs. Bush will march towards Damascus after consolidating its position in Iraq. Syria Denies Having Chemical Weapons, Saddam Link US considering economic, diplomatic sanctions on Syria: Powell |
| Robert Frost | Posted
on 14-Apr-03 09:35 AM
I believe war will spread into Syria and then onto the Korean Pensulia.I think the US have plans to eliminate rogue regimes, conquer lands which bring money and make every country run like a western state.If Bush doesn't like how a country is run he is going to find an excuse to invade and convert. The war has only just begun and will probably go on for a very long time... Other superpowers are too scared to confront the US because their trade ties and economic situation with the US are too costly to jeopardise......The fighting, the corruption, the tribal attacks, the vandalism, the religious intolerance and the threats will remain, if not escalate.This is what happens when America get involved; they storm in, create havoc, leave in disarray, twirl the globe and choose the next country for them to "make a point" with. The CIA-backed regime of Hussein may have fallen, but they'll just put another one in, and we'll be in the same position in less than a decade. The US and Britain has encouraged humanitarian disasters and region-wide destabilization in its military adventurism. Where is the outcry from the UN? When will the ICC prosecute? The first, foreign-led phase, is dying down. Al Qu'eda ambushed the West on 09/11. These 'revenge' attacks on Afghanistan and Iraq have succeeded in uniting the majority of Arabs and Muslims against the US led West. The scene is now set for a long bitter conflict; a Northern Ireland on a worldwide scale. Whether the United States and its allies who are truly committed to this war can prevent WMD from falling into the hands of terrorists and being used on large helpless populations in free democratic countries will determine just what kind of world we live in. Those who oppose all necessary measures to stop it have not imagined what the consequences for the future of humanity would be if such a cataclysm occurs. The second battle in a long war is coming to an end. The end of the war is a long way off. |
| Satya | Posted
on 14-Apr-03 10:24 AM
I agree with Robert Forsts views all but one. I dont think US will dare to invade North Korea if the north does not attack south because: 1. North Korea is far stronger than Iraq militarily though Koreans there are starving. US will not get 12 years sanction to weaken Korea to prepare for the invasion. US casualty will be too high to risk a war. 2. South Korean people and government will oppose the unprovoked war. 3. Seoul is within is not very far from the DMZ. Seoul could be totally destroyed in the war whatever might be the outcome of the war. For the hyper power like US it will be greater humiliation than Vietnam. 4. Another emerging super power is the neighbor of the Koreans. It will affect China adversely both politically and economically. There is a possibility of Chinese involvement. 5. Of course, Russia is another neighbor suspicious of the US motive. |