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US Officials Soften Criticism of Syria - Empire? - Global Policy Forum US Officials Soften Criticism of Syria
'No War Plan' Exists, Powell Asserts
By Brian Knowlton
International Herald Tribune
April 16, 2003
Secretary of State Colin Powell said Tuesday that "there is no war plan" against Syria, as the United States appeared intent on cooling anxiety in the region caused by tough-sounding comments from the U.S. administration. "Iraq was a unique case," Powell said, "where it wasn't just a matter of a dictator being there, it was a dictator terrorizing his people, raping and pillaging his own people, wasting his treasure," and "invading his neighbors and threatening the whole world."
The message to Syria, Powell said, should be that "there is a new environment in the region with the end of the regime of Saddam Hussein." Damascus should understand that "there are better choices it can make." Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said coalition forces in Iraq had shut off a pipeline illegally carrying Iraqi oil to Syria, but he, too, appeared to have eased his denunciatory focus on Damascus.
Shortly before the appearances by Powell and Rumsfeld, President George W. Bush spoke at some length about the war in Iraq, saying that the Saddam's government "is no more" - and he did not mention Syria. That, too, appeared to hint at a slight cooling of the U.S. criticism that has rattled Iraq's neighbors and other countries far afield.
The United Nations secretary-general, Kofi Annan, echoed the comments of several world leaders when he expressed concern "that recent statements directed at Syria should not contribute to a wider destabilization."
Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin of France told Powell by phone that the war in Iraq and fears of further hostilities had sparked a "feeling of worry and humiliation" in the Arab world, a spokesman said. Powell, speaking to foreign reporters here, repeated the serious U.S. complaints of recent days: that Syria has chemical weapons, that it supports terrorist groups, that it has permitted aid and succor to flow to pro-Saddam forces in Iraq, and that it has allowed fleeing Iraqi leaders to find haven in Syria.
U.S. officials have also complained that Syria buys millions of dollars of oil each year from Iraq in violation of UN sanctions - a matter the pipeline closing was meant to address. But Powell sought to quell fears that, as some in the region have said, Syria might be "next on the list" for military attention after Iraq. "There is no list, there is no war plan right now to attack someone else either for the purpose of overthrowing their leadership or for the purpose of imposing democratic values," he said. Powell had spoken a day earlier of imposing diplomatic or economic pressure on Damascus, but also referred to unspecified "other options," and White House aides have pointedly declined to rule out military force.
Syria has strongly denied the U.S. allegations. Its ambassador to Spain said Tuesday that the suggestion that it harbored terrorists was "an insult." The cabinet in Damascus denounced as "threats and falsifications" the suggestion that Syria had chemical weapons, Reuters reported. It issued a statement saying that the United States was serving Israeli goals.
Powell's comments came hours after comments from the Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar of Spain, which strongly supported the Iraq war. Aznar said that Syria would not be the target of any U.S. military action, and Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain said much the same a day earlier.
Syria "will not be the target of any military action" and the Iraq war "will not spread to other countries," Aznar told reporters during a visit to Warsaw, Agence France-Presse reported. Aznar said he had "very warm" contacts with President Bashar Assad and hoped to talk to him again soon. Bush has asked Aznar, who supported the Iraq war politically but sent no troops, to urge Syria to bar any fleeing Iraq leadership figures, Spanish officials said. Tony Blair of Britain had said Monday that "there are no plans to invade Syria." As the source of his information he cited Bush.
Bush, in an economy-centered talk Tuesday, spoke at some length of the war in Iraq. He said that victory there was "certain but not yet complete." But Bush did not pursue his own direct cautions to Syria. Given the robust warnings of recent days from Bush and his top cabinet ministers, the failure to mention Syria, even amid fairly extended comments on Iraq, appeared to reflect a calculated scaling-back of tensions.
His comments could have been seen to address Syria only by reading between the lines. The United States was still "threatened by determined and resourceful enemies," he said. "What we begin, we will finish." Uniformed military officials have been circumspect, as well. When General Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was asked Tuesday in Washington whether the American military was prepared for military action against Syria, he replied that this was such a "hypothetical situation that I'm not going to answer the question."
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