U.S. Official: Syria Should Worry About Invasion [View All]

http://globalpolitician.com/articles.asp?ID=263&t=U.S.+Official%3A+Syria+Should+Worry+About+Invasion U.S. Official: Syria Should Worry About Invasion

12/25/2004

By David Storobin, Esq.
The US is considering an attack on terrorists and Iraqi Ba’athists hiding in Syria who, it believes, are directing many of the attacks against Coalition forces in Iraq, a senior American administration official told The Jerusalem Post. A recent attack in Mosul that resulted in the death of 22 Americans was likely orchestrated from Syrian territory. A group of former Iraqi officials and generals set up a “New Regional Command” from which they orchestrate attacks against the new Iraqi regime and the Coalition forces.

The Times of London is reporting that not only are the Syrians providing Ba’athists and terrorists with a base of operations, but they are directly involved in supporting anti-American terror and insurgency.

New sanctions on Syria are very likely. The recent “Syria Accountability Act” left many loopholes and the Bush administration may be looking to completely forbid all trade between Americans and Syria. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage confirmed to a Lebanese newspaper that the U.S. is considering sanctions. President Bush, likewise, declared that “nothing’s taken off the table” when answering a question about pressuring the Syrian Ba’ath regime.

Richard Armitage also spoke of Syria’s continued occupation of Lebanon in violation of U.N. resolution 1559. The United States may bring the issue to the U.N. Security Council in January.

In addition to new sanctions, the U.S. official asserted that Washington may become more “aggressive” in the coming months and predicted a confrontation “unless the Syrians reverse their actions.”

“hen you're being attacked from safe havens across the border – we've been through this a lot of times before – we're just not going to sit there,” said the American told the Jerusalem Post.

In recent days, Iraq’s Defense Minister accused both Syria and Iran of supporting al-Qaida-lined Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and others looking to undermine the new regime. The Bashar Assad administration denied the charges as “baseless,” but Americans and Iraqis remain unconvinced.

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