Syria has asked for complete inspections of ALL midde east nations for WoMD INCLUDING ISRAEL
dyslexia wrote:Syria has asked for complete inspections of ALL midde east nations for WoMD INCLUDING ISRAEL
Expect Bush to carry them out, in his own favorite way, apart from Israel!
The Independeant's 'Argument' in of the Monday isue says
Quote:There is something unseemly, not to say alarming, about the way in which the US appears to be setting up Syria as the next threat to world peace and security even before the guns have fallen silent in Iraq. With looting and violence continuing, barely restrained, over the weekend, President Bush and his senior officials peppered Syria with warnings about its behaviour - warnings all too reminiscent of the ones that preceded the war on Iraq.
and ends with
Quote:We can hope that Washington's warnings are no more than a metaphorical shot across Syria's bows and reflect nothing more ambitious than a desire to bring Saddam Hussein and his henchmen to justice. The message, however, comes across as rather more ambiguous. Syria is the only other country to have a monopoly Baath party in charge. The US accuses it of sponsoring and harbouring Hizbollah terrorists. It suspects Syria of trying to obtain weapons that would make it a greater threat to Israel. Syria only narrowly, we are now told, avoided being grouped with Iraq, Iran and North Korea as part of the "axis of evil".
There are those in the US administration who have made no secret of their desire to re-order the whole Middle East. In their scheme, Iraq is only the start. The Prime Minister, for all his commitment to disarming Iraq and improving life for Iraqis, has so far declined to sign up to any wider objective, beyond improving the prospects for Israeli-Palestinian peace. By sending his Foreign Office minister, Mike O'Brien, to Damascus and Tehran this week, Mr Blair is not only keeping channels open with these countries. He is also publicly distancing himself from Washington's judgement that they are "rogue states". Keeping communications open should remain Britain's priority. One ill-conceived war with the potential to destabilise the whole region is already one too many.
Full text:
The Independent 'Argument': America's attacks on Syria simply confirm fears of its Middle East intentions
The editorial in the NY-Times, some wise words.
Quote:
Aftermath: The Bush DoctrineA doctrine that purports to spread happiness, but ends up spreading resentment, is not working, no matter how many statues come tumbling down. That is why it is especially important now to show that the United States also has the confidence and wisdom to sheath its sword until it is really needed.
The Pentagon just announced Saddam's half-brother was apprehended attempting to escape to Syria.....
Hmmm. Guess top officials have been made aware that Syria will harbor them.
Does not bode well for Syria.
According to the media, Hasan was dismissed as interior minister, the official in charge of Iraq's domestic security, and was shot by Saddam's son Odai in 1995 amid one of the many squabbles within Saddam's family. Saddam did not trust Hasan and was having him watched.
BBC:"We believe there are chemical weapons in Syria," President Bush says. He calls on Damascus to "co-operate".
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And Elvis was also abducted by the Syrians.
Of course no evidence needed. Has anyone seen some footage or material evidence about that bus with assasins on the Syrian border?
It should be noted that Syria has major assets, being a large exporter of oil and gas.
What a coincidence? :wink:
From my previous post:
Does Syria sponsor terrorism?
Yes
Does Syria cooperate with other state sponsors of terrorism?
Yes.
Does Syria have weapons of mass destruction?
Yes
As to their possessing oil, uh, I don't think so...
Countries with the largest reserves of crude oil
Rank Country Billion barrels
1 Saudi Arabia 265.3
2 Iraq 115
3 Kuwait 98.8
4 Iran 96.4
5 United Arab Emirates 62.8
6 Russia 54.3
7 Venezuela 47.6
8 China 30.6
9 Libya 30
10 Mexico 26.9
11 Nigeria 24.1
12 United States 22
13 Algeria 12.7
14 Norway 10.1
15 Indonesia 9.7
16 Angola 9
17 Brazil 8.5
18 Oman 5.8
19 Canada 5.6
19 Qatar 5.6
But it sure does sound good when you are trying to make the case that it is "all about oil!!", I will grant you that.
serious question so please no flippant sarcasm. Syria has by traditional law accepted anyone across their border with a passport of any other arab nation so what jurisdiction does the US have to tell them who they may admit into their nation? In additon Syria has accepted totally unfettered inspections for any WoMD with the condition that the same inspections occur in Israel. Problem is what?
I hope this doesn't set off your flippancy meter, dys, but I don't care if Israel has WoMD.
It doesn't bother me a bit.
And the reason?
Because to the first two questions above, the answer, for Israel, is "no".
i didn't ask for a defense of Israel, we have the US to do that. as to your first 2 questions the US is quilty of both. Panama-Nicaraga to name two examples.
IMO Syria is not about oil or terrorism, it is a gift to Israel which means another area where the US will have free and unfettered access. With both Iraq and Syria basically under US or perhaps US/Iraeli cooperative rule, well.......you get it.
I sorta suspect that a US Presence in the midst of The Arab World, brought on with the convincing demonstration of the impotence of Arab nations to militarily oppose The US, will have an effect on the governments and secular leaders of entire region not unlike the effect a few precision weapons had on old Colonel Khadafi. Particularly if The Roadmap gets serious attention from both Israel and The Palestinians. As to Syria specifically, I imagine apart from what her people think or want, The Government, even though Ba'athist, is sufficiently interested in self-preservation to avoid attracting too much US attention. I expect more a war of words than of missiles ... Hasan and crowd know they have everything to lose. I also fully expect there will be quite a few bumps on the road, Roadmap or not.
Syria is as good a place as any to relocate the Military presence that is currently in Germany.
Yeah, maxsdadeo, but I think it likely there may have been some expectations raised in the Former-Warsaw-Pact/Current-Trendy-New-Allies group. As I understand it, some of that crowd are looking forward to providing Uncle Sam a bit of additional off-site parking, in return for the customary fees, of course.
NOTE: Syria does not currently support terorist groups that aim to attack the US. The upport they are criticized for is for groups that operate against Isreal.
Still terror yes, but it's notable that they cooperate with the US to a great degree with terrorism directed at the US. It's also notable that the support they are accused of giving to Iraq is not on a state level, the claim is that they do not have a sealed border. You might recall that Pakistan, a stauch ally to the US in its war on terror, has even less control of the Pakistani border and that many more Pakistani nationals fought America in Afghanistan than Syrian nationals accused of helping Iraq.
As to weapons sales, if that is a criteria the the US also supported Saddam and terror.
Craven
The Syrian border was sealed today.
f.
