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synergy

Posted: Dec 30 2007, 08:11 PM

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France to halt links with Syria

QUOTE

Last Updated: Sunday, 30 December 2007, 15:57 GMT - BBC News

France is to suspend diplomatic contacts with Syria, French President Nicolas Sarkozy has announced.

Links will be restored only when France has proof that Syria is not blocking progress towards installing a consensus president in Lebanon, Mr Sarkozy said.

Lebanon has been without a president since November, as rival pro- and anti- Syrian factions argue over who should fill the post.

"I ask Syria to... work to create agreement," said Mr Sarkozy.

France "will not make any more contacts with Syria... as long as there is no proof of Syria's willingness to let Lebanon choose a consensus president," he told reporters, during a visit to Egypt.

Standoff

BBC correspondent Heba Saleh in Cairo says attempts to install a new Lebanese president have stalled because of the standoff between the pro-Western government and the opposition backed by Syria and Iran.

~~~cont'd~~~

synergy

Posted: Jan 12 2008, 05:58 PM

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FIVE articles linked below:

Bush warns against Syria, Iran's fuelling violence in Iraq

QUOTE

KUWAIT CITY, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President George W. Bush warned Saturday against Syria and Iran's fuelling violence in Iraq.

Bush made the warning while speaking to reporters after meetinghis top political and military commanders in Iraq at the U.S. military base of Camp Arifjan in Kuwait.

Bush urged that Syria "needs to further reduce the flow of terrorists" and Iran must stop supporting militias that attack U.S.and Iraqi forces.

~~~cont'd~~~

Syria blasts Bush's efforts in Middle East

QUOTE

Tehran Times

January 12, 2008

President Bush is unlikely to achieve Middle East peace before he leaves office next year because the U.S. will be caught up in the presidential election process, Syrian President Bashar al Assad said.

Assad's comments were published in the Austrian daily Die Presse on Wednesday and picked up by the English-language Albawaba Web site as President Bush landed in Israel on the first leg of his Middle East tour.

""It is perhaps too late to talk about peace in the last year of this U.S. administration. It will be preoccupied with elections,"" Assad was quoted as saying.

""Annapolis was a one-day event. It will all depend on follow-up efforts. We have to be optimistic, although cautious,"" Assad said in reference to the U.S.-sponsored Israeli-Palestinian peace conference in November.

The Syrian government daily Tishrin voiced an even stronger criticism of the president.

Bush is carrying ""rotten produce in his pocket to market in the region and [comes] with some chaotic ideas in mind to further support Israel, undermine the Arab forces of resistance, antagonize Arab-Iran relations and justify U.S.-Zionist [Israeli] hegemony,"" the paper said in an editorial, according to the Associated Press.

~~~cont'd~~~

George Bush to push $20bn Saudi weapons deal By Carolynne Wheeler, Middle East Correspondent [Telegraph.co.uk] Last Updated: 3:36pm GMT 12/01/2008

Arab press pours scorn on Bush peace vision From correspondents in Cairo [HeraldSun.com.au] January 12, 2008 03:37am

New doubt cast on whether Syria tried to build reactor

QUOTE

By William J. Broad
International Herald Tribune
Saturday, January 12, 2008

The puzzling site in Syria that Israeli jets bombed in September became more curious Friday with the release of a satellite photograph showing new construction there that resembles the site's former main building.

Israel's air attack was directed against what Israeli and U.S. intelligence analysts judged to be a partly constructed nuclear reactor. The Syrians vigorously denied that claim.

Before the attack, satellite imagery showed a tall, square building there, each side about half as long as a football field.

After the attack, the Syrians wiped the area clean, with some analysts calling the speed of the cleanup a tacit admission of guilt. The barren site is on the eastern bank of the Euphrates River, 150 kilometers, or 90 miles, north of the Iraqi border.

The image released Friday came from a private company, DigitalGlobe, in Longmont, Colorado. It shows a tall, square building under construction that appears to closely resemble the original structure, with the exception that the roof is vaulted instead of flat. The photo was taken from space on Wednesday.

Given the international uproar that unfolded after the bombing, "we can assume it's not a reactor," said David Albright, president of the Institute for Science and International Security, a private group in Washington that has analyzed the Syrian site.

If international inspectors eventually get to the site, he added, they would now have more difficulty looking for nuclear evidence. "The new building," he noted, "covers whatever remained of the destroyed one."

Skeptics have criticized the nuclear accusation, saying the public evidence that has so far come to light is ambiguous at best. They noted, for instance, that at the time of the attack, the site had no obvious barbed wire or air defenses that would normally ring a sensitive military facility.

The International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna recently became aware of the new construction, a European diplomat said Friday.

~~~cont'd~~~

synergy

Posted: Feb 4 2008, 06:17 AM

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Sy Hersh confirms: Syrian facility bombed by Israel was not nuclear

QUOTE

02/03/2008 @ 12:49 pm
Filed by David Edwards and Muriel Kane
The Raw Story

After Israel bombed a Syrian military facility last September, the United States and Israel both claimed the target had been a Syrian nuclear facility under construction.

RAW STORY's Larisa Alexandrovna was alone at the time in reporting that the actual target was a cache of North Korean No-Dong missiles, dating back to the 1990's, which Syria was converting for use as chemical warheads.

In a follow-up report, Alexandrovna added that Vice President Dick Cheney was suspected of being behind leaks to the press of misleading claims of a nuclear basis for the incident.

A third story in Alexandrovna's series reported that the US and Israel were refusing to cooperate with an attempted investigation by the International Atomic Energy Agency, but that the IAEA had concluded on the basis of satellite imagery that the target was unlikely to have been nuclear.

However, the US/Israeli version continued to dominate most accounts of the incident. As recently as December, the Sunday Times was still insisting that "Israel's top-secret air raid on Syria in September destroyed a bomb factory assembling warheads fuelled by North Korean plutonium."

Now veteran investigative journalist Seymour Hersh has weighed in on the matter. Hersh appeared on CNN's Late Edition on Sunday to discuss his upcoming article, "A Strike in the Dark," which will appear in the Feb. 11 issue of the New Yorker.

Hersh writes in that article, "Whatever was under construction, with North Korean help, it apparently had little to do with agriculture -- or with nuclear reactors -- but much to do with Syria's defense posture, and its military relationship with North Korea. And that, perhaps, was enough to silence the Syrian government after the September 6th bombing."

"This is a wonderful sort of a complicated story," Hersh told CNN's Wolf Blitzer. "Here Israel bombs another country, basically an act of war. ... They don't say anything publicly about it. The Israeli great ally, the United States, says nothing. Syria doesn't say much about it. They complain, but they're very muted too. ... Nobody talks about it."

Hersh went on to say that even though nobody was talking publicly, "there was tremendous sotto voce stuff. In other words, the Israeli government, the American government were leaking, telling newspaper people, particularly in America, but also in Europe, all sorts of wonderful, grandiose details about what happened."

Hersh finally concluded as a result of his investigation that the claims that "when you began to look at each part... they sort of fall apart." He is not even convinced the plant was a chemical warfare facility but believes it may have been a missile plant. "Israel may indeed have some evidence that's overwhelming," Hersh stated. "But without that sort of evidence, what they've done is, they've simply bombed another country."

Hersh's best guess as to the motivation of the bombing is that it was partly Israeli politics and partly "a message for the Iranians that we're coming."
#

Stories by Larisa Alexandrovna about the Israeli raid on Syria:

Israeli air strike did not hit nuclear facility, intelligence officials say, 9/24/07

US intelligence does not show Syrian nuclear weapons program, officials say, 10/18/07

US, Israel refuse to cooperate with inquest into Syria strike, 11/14/07

~~~cont'd~~~

synergy

Posted: Feb 13 2008, 05:32 AM

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Syria 'bomb kills militant chief'

QUOTE

Last Updated: Wednesday, 13 February 2008, 09:40 GMT - BBC News

Lebanese group Hezbollah says one of its leaders, Imad Mughniyeh, has been killed in a bombing in Damascus, and blamed Israel for assassinating him.

Mughniyeh is widely believed to be behind a wave of Western hostage-taking in Lebanon in the 1980s.

Correspondents say he had been in hiding for years and was high on US and Israeli wanted lists.

There has been not been any word about the incident from either the Syrian or Israeli governments.

Syrian police kept media and other onlookers well away from the scene of the blast in the well-to-do Kafar Soussa district.

"Scores of police and intelligence officers rushed to the site. People in the neighbourhood are shocked. We are not used to such things in Syria," said one resident quoted by Reuters news agency.

"We saw security officers hauling the body away," said one witnesses quoted by Reuters news agency.

Damascus has witnessed a number of bomb attacks in recent years, some blamed on Israel and others on Islamic militants.

Mughniyeh was among several suspects indicted in the US for the 1985 hijacking of a TWA airliner in which a US Navy diver was killed.

Hezbollah-owned Manar TV in Beirut announced the death saying: "With all pride we declare a great jihadist leader of the Islamic resistance in Lebanon joining the martyrs... the brother commander hajj Imad Mughniyeh".

Hours after the blast, Syrian state TV confirmed one person had been killed in a car bombing, but did not identify the victim.

synergy

Posted: Feb 13 2008, 03:08 PM

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Welcoming someone's death is beyond me.

US welcomes death of Hezbollah militant

QUOTE

AP Wed Feb 13, 11:48 AM ET

The State Department said on Wednesday it welcomes the reported death of the suspected mastermind of attacks on the U.S. Embassy and U.S. Marine barracks in Lebanon in the 1980s.

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said that the United States has no independent information on the reports that Imad Mughniyeh was killed in a car bombing in Syria Tuesday.

"The world is a better place without this man in it," McCormack said. "One way or the other he was brought to justice."

The United States blames Mughniyeh for numerous terrorist attacks that killed hundreds of Americans.

He is on an FBI wanted list with a $5 million bounty on his head.

The Islamic militant group Hezbollah and its Iranian backers on Wednesday blamed Israel for the killing of Mughniyeh, Hezbollah's security chief in the 1980s who was one of the world's most wanted and elusive terrorists. Israel denied involvement.

Mughniyeh was Hezbollah security chief during a turbulent period in Lebanon's civil war. He has been accused of masterminding the April 1983 car bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Beirut that killed 63 people, including 17 Americans, and the simultaneous truck bombings of the U.S. Marine barracks and French military base in Beirut, killing 58 French soldiers and 241 Marines.

He was indicted in the United States for the 1985 TWA hijacking in which Shiite militants seized the 747 and flew it back and forth between Beirut and Algiers demanding the release of Lebanese Shiites captured by Israel. During the hijacking, the body of U.S. Navy diver Robert Stethem, a passenger on the plane, was dumped on the tarmac of Beirut airport.

During Lebanon's civil war, Mughniyeh was also believed to have directed a string of kidnappings of Americans and other foreigners, including former Associated Press chief Mideast correspondent Terry Anderson � who was held for six years until his release in 1991 � and CIA station chief William Buckley, who was killed in 1985.

synergy

Posted: Feb 13 2008, 08:34 PM

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Bush imposes new sanctions on Syria

QUOTE

By TERENCE HUNT, AP White House Corespondent
6:29 pm EST Wed 13 Feb 2008

President Bush, stepping up pressure on Syria, ordered new sanctions Wednesday to punish officials in Damascus for alleged efforts to undermine stability in Iraq and meddle in Lebanon's sovereignty and democracy.

Bush, in an executive order, said he was expanding penalties against senior government officials in Syria and their associates deemed to be responsible for � or to have benefited from � public corruption. The order did not specifically name any officials.

Bush signed the order a day after Imad Mughniyeh, one of the world's most wanted and elusive terrorists, was killed in a car bombing in Syria nearly 15 years after dropping from sight. The one-time Hezbollah security chief was the suspected mastermind of attacks that killed hundreds of Americans in Lebanon and of the brutal kidnappings of Westerners.

"The world is a better place without this man in it," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said. "One way or the other, he was brought to justice."

The White House said Wednesday's executive order built on one Bush issued in May 2004 that banned all U.S. exports to Syria except for food and medicine. His earlier action followed long-standing complaints that the Middle Eastern nation was supporting terrorism and undermining U.S. efforts in Iraq.

The 2004 order also banned flights to and from the United States; authorized the Treasury Department to freeze assets of Syrian nationals and entities involved in terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, occupation of Lebanon or terrorism in Iraq; and restricted banking relations between U.S. banks and the Syrian national bank.

The U.S. had complained that Syria was supporting militant groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah and failing to stop guerrillas from crossing the border into Iraq.

A White House statement on Wednesday said Syria was undermining efforts to stabilize Iraq and allowing Syrian territory to be used for that purpose.

Syria's government "continues to pursue other activities that deny the Syrian people the political freedoms and economic prosperity they deserve, and that undercut the peace and stability of the region," according to the statement.

"Syria continues to undermine Lebanon's sovereignty and democracy, imprison democracy advocates, curtail human rights and sponsor and harbor terrorists," it said. "The United States will continue to stand with the people of Syria and the region as they seek to exercise their rights peacefully and to build a brighter future." Lebanon is gripped by turmoil as Syrian-supported Hezbollah struggles for power with the U.S.-backed government.

Just last June, Bush signed a proclamation barring U.S. entry to people it says are undermining the stability of Lebanon and its government.

Syria held political and military sway in tiny neighboring Lebanon for some three decades. Besides armed troops on Beirut streets, Syrian intelligence forces were often a shadowy but pervasive force in Lebanese daily life.

___

On the Net:

Bush's executive order: http://tinyurl.com/2fo7ud

synergy

Posted: Feb 16 2008, 08:08 AM

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Syria 'to name Mughniyeh killer'

QUOTE

Last Updated: Friday, 15 February 2008, 13:39 GMT - BBC News

Syria has said it will soon present "irrefutable" proof of who was behind the killing of Hezbollah commander Imad Mughniyeh in the capital, Damascus.

Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem would not discuss the ongoing investigation, but insisted the world would "soon hear the results of this mighty effort".

Meanwhile, Iranian TV has broadcast a video reportedly of Tuesday's bombing.

On Thursday, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah blamed Israel for the blast and warned it was ready for "open war".

Israel has rejected the claims, but nonetheless has put its embassies around the world on high alert and boosted troop deployments on the Lebanese border.

'Secret investigation'

Speaking after meeting his Iranian counterpart in Damascus, Mr Moualem said the Syrian security services had devoted huge resources to their investigation into "this despicable crime" and would soon unmask the killer.

~~~cont'd~~~

synergy

Posted: Feb 28 2008, 01:13 PM

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Thu 28 Feb 2008: Treasury freezes assets of four Syrians (Reuters)
The U.S. Treasury froze assets of four Syrians on Thursday saying they facilitated the flow of money, weapons and terrorists through Syria to al Qaeda in Iraq.

New sanctions aimed at Syrians

QUOTE

By MARTIN CRUTSINGER, AP Economics Writer
11:58 am EST Thu 28 Feb 2008

The Bush administration on Thursday announced it was imposing economic sanctions on four individuals it accused of helping with the flow of money, weapons, terrorists and other resources from Syria into Iraq.

It marked the administration's latest attempt to block efforts by groups in Syria from undermining the government of Iraq.

The action will freeze any assets the four individuals have under U.S. jurisdiction and prohibit Americans and U.S. firms from engaging in business transactions with the four men.

"Since the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime, Syria has become a transit station for al-Qaida foreign terrorists on their way to Iraq," Stuart Levey, the administration's point person on terrorist financing, said in a statement.

Levey, Treasury's undersecretary of terrorism and financial intelligence, said that a network in Syria was "going to great lengths to facilitate the flow through Syria of money, weapons, and terrorists intent on killing U.S. and coalition forces and innocent Iraqis."

A Treasury fact sheet identified the four individuals being targeted for economic sanctions as Badran Turki Hishan al-Mazidih, Ghazy Fezza Hishan al-Mazidih, Akram Turki Hishan al-Mazidih and Saddah Jaylut al-Marsumi. Treasury said each of the four individuals also use other names.

President Bush earlier this month signed an economic order that expanded penalties against senior government officials in Syria and their associates who are judged to have benefited from public corruption.

Last week, Treasury announced that it was freezing any assets held in the United States by Rami Makluf, one of the most powerful and influential businessmen in Syria, who controls the country's mobile phone network as well as other lucrative enterprises. He is also the first cousin of Syrian President Syrian President Bashar Assad.

synergy

Posted: Mar 4 2008, 04:33 AM

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Making excuses to continue the surge and the permanent U.S. military occupation of Iraq.

US commander: Iraq violence down

QUOTE

By ANNE FLAHERTY, Associated Press Writer
4:08 pm EST Tue 04 Feb 2008

The commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East says there has been a dramatic decrease of violence in Iraq, but such gains are not irreversible.

"By almost every measure, the security situation has improved significantly," said Adm. William Fallon in remarks prepared for a hearing Tuesday before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Still, "multiple strains of violent extremism remain a threat to the government and populace and some of these groups benefit from external support," namely Iran and Syria, he added.

Fallon's cautious optimism could help lay the groundwork for a halt in troop reductions in Iraq this summer. Gen. David Petraeus, the top commander in Iraq, is expected to ask President Bush to wait until as late as September to decide whether to bring home more troops than already scheduled.

By July, the Pentagon is on track to complete its reduction from 20 to 15 active-duty Army brigades deployed to Iraq. Petraeus, who is slated to testify before Congress on April 8-9, has said he favors a "period of assessment" after that so as not to lose the security gains made in recent months.

In his testimony, Fallon makes clear that Petraeus' views will not be the only ones sent to Bush for consideration. Fallon said the general's recommendations will be considered by "the chain of command" and that "our inputs, along with his" will be sent to the president.

"Recommendations will consider the existing security situation, progress of the ISF (Iraqi Security Forces) and their readiness to assume responsibility for security," Fallon said. "The conditions on the ground will be a major determinant of future moves."

In Afghanistan, forces have degraded the Taliban's ability to attack, despite an increase in violence last year, Fallon said. The rise in suicide attacks, while alarming, is confined to about 10 percent of the total districts in Afghanistan, he said.

Also in his testimony, Fallon blames Iran and Syria for fanning the flames of global terrorism. He said Tehran is providing Shiite militia groups with training, money and weapons, including powerful roadside bomb technology. He also charged Iran with providing money and weapons to Hezbollah and Hamas, which the U.S. government regards as terrorist organizations.

Syria, he said, continues to meddle in Lebanon and support Hezbollah, while allowing the flow of suicide bombers and foreign fighters into Iraq through its borders.

synergy

Posted: Mar 5 2008, 04:42 AM

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Bush blames Assad for Lebanese crisis as March 14 envoys plan trek to Cairo

QUOTE

By Hussein Abdallah
Daily Star (Lebanon) staff
Wednesday, March 05, 2008

BEIRUT: US President George W. Bush accused Syrian President Bashar Assad on Tuesday of blocking the election of a new head of state in Lebanon and impeding the success of the country's government. "I am extremely disappointed that the Syrian leader continues to make it harder for the Lebanese government to succeed," Bush said. "I really don't appreciate the fact that they've made it hard for this government to elect a president."

Also Tuesday, visiting EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said Tuesday that the EU backs the three-point Arab plan to end the Lebanese impasse.

"We back the Arab initiative and we will try our best to find a solution to the crisis ahead of the upcoming Arab summit," Solana said after meeting Speaker Nabih Berri.

After the talks with the speaker, Solana also met with Premier Fouad Siniora, renewing renewed the EU's support for Siniora's government.

Solana dismissed the notion that a civil war might erupt in the country, but stressed the need to solve all tensions on the Lebanese political scene. However, he did not explicitly blame any parties for the deadlock.

He added the deployment of the US warship the USS Cole off "is not indicative of anything."

Amid reports saying former President Amin Gemayel, parliamentary majority leader Saad Hariri Saad-Hariri-Profile Sep-07 , and opposition Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) leader Michel Aoun will head to Cairo in the coming days for a meeting with Arab League chief Amr Moussa, Gemayel said such a meeting was unnecessary in the absence of true will to end the crisis in Lebanon.

"The Lebanese are fed up of painkillers. We must find a serious solution," Gemayel said.

Ahead of a meeting with Saudi King Abdullah on Tuesday, Gemayel said Saudi Arabia has always extended its hand to help Lebanon overcome hard times.

"We will not forget Saudi Arabia has placed deposits at the central bank, while the opposition was and still is paralyzing the country's economy," he said.

Representatives from the pro-government March 14 coalition and the opposition headed to Cairo ahead of an Arab foreign ministers' meeting on Wednesday that is supposed to make the necessary preparations for the upcoming Arab summit, scheduled for March 29-30 in Damascus.

Siniora on Tuesday contacted the Egyptian and Saudi foreign ministers and discussed the latest developments ahead of the meeting in Cairo.

The March 14 delegation is expected to present to the Arab ministers a list of its demands.

The pro-government daily Al-Mustaqbal said March 14 MPs will submit a report to the Arab ministers, accusing the Syrian regime of blocking solutions to Lebanon's crisis.

Moussa and Berri are said to have discussed "new ideas" to settle the crisis during a phone conversation on Monday.

Resigned Health Minister Mohammad Khalifeh, a member of Berri's parliamentary bloc, is also expected to meet Moussa in Cairo on Wednesday.

Well-informed sources said Hariri has sent MP Bassem Sabaa to meet Moussa on his behalf.

FPM MP Ibrahim Kanaan told The Daily Star Tuesday that no arrangements had been made so far for Aoun to visit Cairo.

Kanaan said there will be no progress in talks between the ruling coalition and the opposition as long as the ruling coalition is rejecting all opposition proposals without suggesting alternative solutions.

"The Arab initiative is made up of three points. It has been there for more than a month and yet the pro-government forces have not made up their mind on two main items of the initiative and those are the government make-up and the new electoral law," he said. "We said we want the 10+10+10 formula for the next Cabinet. They rejected that without presenting an alternative."

"We proposed adopting the 1960 electoral law for the 2009 parliamentary elections. They rejected that without proposing an alternative electoral law.

"It is clear that they never were serious about anything. They are just wasting time. They want presidential vacuum to persist in order to keep the country in the hands of the Siniora government," Kanaan added.

Lebanese Forces boss Samir Geagea said Tuesday that Lebanon should not participate in the Damascus summit unless a new president is elected.

Syria has not yet delivered invitations to the summit for Lebanon or Saudi Arabia.

Geagea said the Damascus summit will not produce any solutions for Lebanon.

"Arab parties have approached Syria repeatedly, asking it to facilitate the election of a new president in Lebanon, But Syria has not responded to any of the Arab requests," he said.

A number of Arab leaders are expected to boycott the summit if Lebanon's crisis remains unsolved. - With agencies

Secretary of state defends deployment of uss cole off lebanon

CAIRO: US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice defended the deployment of a US warship off the coast of Lebanon, saying it was designed to show Washington's readiness to defend its allies' interests.

"As to the American military presence, the US exercise a military presence in the region and it has for a very very long time," Rice told reporters in Cairo at a news conference with her Egyptian counterpart Ahmed Abu al-Gheit.

"It is simply to make very clear that the US is capable and willing of defending its interests and the interests of its allies. That is really all that is happening there," she said.

Rice was responding to a question on the deployment of the guided-missile destroyer USS Cole to waters off Lebanon, amid concerns over regional stability and Lebanon's protracted political crisis.

She said the the United States defended the right of the Lebanese to elect their own president.

"They have lived too long under the shadow of foreign intimidation and foreign presence," she added. - AFP

synergy

Posted: Mar 8 2008, 05:16 AM

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Egyptian official: Syria may be behind Jerusalem attack

QUOTE

Mar 8, 2008 10:54 | Updated Mar 8, 2008 11:01
By JPOST.COM STAFF

Syria may not only be to blame for the refusal of Palestinian factions to accept a cease-fire with Israel, but also for the terror attack which killed eight Yeshiva students in Jerusalem on Thursday, the London-based newspaper Al-Hayat reported on Saturday.

According to the report, a senior Egyptian official told the paper that "Syria may be interested in focusing the international attention on the situation in Gaza and the West Bank, instead of the situation in Lebanon."

Asked whether Hizbullah was responsible for the Jerusalem shooting spree, the official responded that "there was not enough evidence, but that an investigation was ongoing."

The official then went on to insinuate that Syria may have had a hand in the attack.

"Senior Hamas and Islamic Jihad leaders who are able to decide on a cease-fire were in Syria [at the time], and we won't forget that when we hear who was behind the terror attack," he said. The official added that all cease-fire negotiations were frozen following the meeting in Damascus.

Meanwhile, Egyptian Intelligence chief Omar Suleiman has postponed a planned trip to Israel following the shooting attack, Army Radio reported on Saturday.

This was the second time in two weeks that Suleiman postponed his trip. Last week, Egyptian officials announced that the trip would be postponed due to the IDF operation Hot Winter, which left over 110 Palestinians dead while aiming to curb Kassam rocket fire against western Negev communities.

synergy

Posted: Mar 11 2008, 08:12 PM

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US: Syria backs foreign fighters in Iraq

QUOTE

AP 7:27 pm EST Tue 11 Mar 2008

Despite increased counterterrorism efforts by Damascus, as much as 90 percent of the foreign fighters in Iraq cross the border from Syria, according to a Pentagon report that says Iran's support for Shiite militants also is hurting efforts to improve Iraq security.

As those external pressures dog coalition and Iraqi forces, the government of Iraq is also hamstrung by internal corruption and persistent problems getting basic services to the people, the report said.

The Defense Department's quarterly report on progress in Iraq, released Tuesday, said that militants continue to find safe havens and logistical support in Syria.

"It is not clear that Syria has made a strategic decision to deal with foreign terrorists using Syria as a transit point into Iraq," said the report, which covers events from December through February.

In late January, Iraqi officials suggested that about 150 foreign and Iraqi fighters slipped into the country from Syria a few months earlier and were responsible for a devastating explosion in northern Iraq that killed at least 38 people and wounded more than 200.

On the other border, meanwhile, Tehran's support for Shiite militant groups remains a sizable threat to stability in Iraq. The report asserts that the Quds Force, an elite unit of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, still provides much of the explosives for the militants.

Several military commanders in recent weeks have said that despite recent promises by Tehran to help promote stability in Iraq, there is continued evidence that Iran is training and funding Shiite extremists.

During a recent visit to Iraq, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad dismissed the allegations and said instead that the U.S. presence there was the problem.

The Pentagon report reflects the ongoing decline in violence in Iraq, bolstered by last year's increase in U.S. forces and the continuing growth of the Iraqi troops.

But while it specifically points to improved security conditions in Anbar Province, Baghdad and some surrounding areas, it also said al-Qaida remains strong in parts of the Tigris River Valley and in Ninewa Province.

Al-Qaida members, it said, have been targeting key figures in the groups of Sunni tribesman that have joined to fight the terrorists. The U.S.-funded groups are called the Sons of Iraq, and the report said they numbered about 91,000, with more than 71,000 being Sunni and the remainder Shiite.

Overcoming corruption in the government, the judiciary and prison systems continue to be key challenges. And the Iraqi government is still struggling to provide basic services to its citizens. Electricity demands have grown and � as of the report date � outpaced supplies by 57 percent.

While electricity generation hit a record high in December, it then dropped sharply in January due to maintenance and fuel distribution problems.

In related testimony on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, auditors told Congress that Iraq isn't spending much of its own money, despite soaring oil revenues that are pushing the country toward a massive budget surplus.

The expected surplus comes as the U.S. continues to invest billions of dollars in rebuilding Iraq and faces a financial squeeze domestically because of record oil prices.

"The Iraqis have a budget surplus," said U.S. Comptroller General David Walker. "We have a huge budget deficit. ... One of the questions is who should be paying."

Walker and the other auditors did not give a figure as to the likely surplus. U.S. officials contend that Iraq's lack of spending is due primarily to Baghdad's inability to determine where its money is needed most and how to allocate it efficiently. Two senators have called for an investigation into the matter.

Democrats say the assessment is proof that the Iraq war as a waste of time and money. The U.S. has spent more than $45 billion on rebuilding Iraq. And while officials in Iraq contend that much progress is being made, many projects remain unfinished and U.S. troops are still needed to provide security.

"They ought to be able to use some of their oil to pay for their own costs and not keep sending the bill to the United States," said Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.

___

Associated Press writer Anne Flaherty contributed to this report.

___

On the Net:

Defense Department: http://www.defenselink.mil

synergy

Posted: Mar 29 2008, 07:01 PM

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Syria's Assad denies meddling in Lebanon at boycotted summit

QUOTE

by Sakher Abu el OunSat
AFP Mar 29, 4:01 PM ET

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad denied on Saturday meddling in Lebanon as he hosted an Arab summit boycotted by half of the region's leaders, many of whom blame Damascus for the political crisis in Beirut.

"I would like to make a point with regards to Syrian interference in Lebanon. It is the contrary which is true because pressure has been exerted on Syria for over a year to interfere in Lebanon's affairs" but we have refused to do so, Assad said.

"They have their nation, their institutions, their constitution," he said in an opening address to the leaders of Algeria, the Comoros, Kuwait, Libya, Mauritania, the Palestinian Authority, Qatar, Sudan, Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates.

The Saudi, Egyptian and Jordanian leaders stayed away after Washington urged its allies to think twice before attending the summit of the 22-member Arab League, accusing Syria of blocking the election of a new president in Lebanon.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak sent a statement to the summit urging Damascus to contain Arab rifts.

Syria must "open the way for a new phase (in Arab relations) and contain disputes and differences," said the statement, distributed by the Egyptian embassy.

"Improving Arab-Arab relations needs intense efforts ... and it is natural for the presidency of the summit to lead these efforts and pave the way for the new phase," Mubarak added.

The seat earmarked for Lebanon itself was left vacant, but Syria trumpeted the absence of US allies as a triumph over Washington's influence.

"They (the United States) did their best to prevent the summit but they failed," Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem told reporters ahead of the two-day gathering. "Their aim is to divide the Arab world."

Several Arab officials have expressed frustration at the West's "interference" in Arab affairs.

"There has been US pressure on Arab countries to reduce their participation," Libyan Foreign Minister Abdel Rahman Shalgham told reporters in Damascus on Saturday.

"We as Arabs do not interfere in European summits. It has become a farce and this situation must be remedied by a joint Arab effort," he said.

Lebanon has been without a president since the end of November and been mired in political crisis for more than a year because of feuding between the Western-backed parliamentary majority and the Hezbollah-led opposition, backed by Syria and Iran.

In Beirut, hundreds of students took part in anti-Syrian protests near the downtown Beirut tomb of former premier Rafiq Hariri, assassinated in a 2005 car bombing widely blamed on Syria, which has denied involvement.

At the opening of the summit, Arab League chief Amr Mussa stressed that regional stability depended on a solution to the Lebanese crisis.

"The election of a Lebanese president ... and the friendship between the two neighbouring and brotherly countries, Syria and Lebanon, are essential for the return to calm and stability of our region," Mussa said.

An Arab League initiative calls for the election of army chief General Michel Sleiman as president, the formation of a national unity government in which no single party has veto power and a new electoral law.

Among the absentees, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal on Saturday called on Syria to make a "positive move" to help implement the Arab plan.

On Thursday, Muallem had urged Riyadh to use its influence to help solve the problem. "Saudi Arabia must use its influence over the majority in Lebanon to help find a solution," he said.

In a televised address on Friday ahead of the summit, Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora said his government had decided to boycott the meeting because of Syrian meddling in his country's affairs.

"Syria played a leading role to exacerbate the crisis... interfering in Lebanon's internal affairs and blocking the election of the consensus candidate to the presidency," he said.

The summit was also expected to re-endorse an 2002 Arab initiative for peace which offers Israel normalisation with Arab states in return for withdrawal from occupied lands.

At the opening session, Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas accused Israel of working against a Palestinian state.

"The solution which Israel is designing consists of a group of cantons on a land separated by settlements, the separation wall and roadblocks," he said.

"This type of solution only reinforces the occupation and colonisation and is aimed at preventing the creation of an independent Palestinian state."

synergy

Posted: Apr 6 2008, 08:36 AM

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Just in time for Petraeus testimony! How conveniently engineered!

Israel, U.S. plan to release details on Syria attack

QUOTE

Last update - 11:52 06/04/2008
Israel, U.S. plan to release details on Syria attack
By Barak Ravid and Amos Harel
Haaretz.com

Israel and the United States are coordinating the release of details on the air force strike in Syria last September, which foreign reports claim targeted a nuclear installation Syria was constructing with North Korean assistance. American officials may reveal details of the strike later this month during congressional hearings.

Even though the defense establishment in Israel is opposed to any publication of details of the attack, the Prime Minister's Bureau and U.S. President George W. Bush's administration are of the opinion that it is now possible to reveal details because there is little chance of a conflagration as a result of a Syrian decision to avenge the attack.

Details of the attack are likely to be revealed by senior Bush administration officials during hearings before Congress. Advisers to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Yoram Turbowicz and Shalom Turjeman, discussed the issue last week in Washington with senior U.S. intelligence officials, and National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley.

During the meetings, the two sides agreed on which details of the attack to make public and which details could have negative implications. According to foreign reports, Israel transfered to the U.S. detailed intelligence on the installation attacked, and the two sides agreed not to reveal any details without prior coordination.

The view in Washington and in Jerusalem is that publishing details of the attack will bolster Israel's deterrence and may even lead Syria to cool its close ties with Iran and North Korea.

According to the American assessments, the revelations about the attack will also bolster its hand in negotiations with North Korea on dismantling its nuclear arms.

However, the Israel defense establishment is strongly opposed to revealing any details of the attack in Syria and expressed concern that any airing of the details of the attack will result in lifting the strict censorship that was imposed in Israel on this incident.

Senior figures in the defense establishment and the Israel Defense Forces said in recent day that Israel must convince the Americans to deliver the report to Congress "in closed session."

Intelligence analysts in Israel maintain that any further release of the details on the strike will contribute to the already tense situation between Syria and Israel, which has been exacerbated in part because of Hezbollah's plans to avenge the assassination of the group's terrorist mastermind, Imad Mughniyah.

Any official release of the details of the attack and the nature of the installation may push Syria's Bashar Assad into a corner and put pressure him to respond, say intelligence officials.

The possibility of details being made public has also contributed to the mutual suspicions between the PMO and the Defense Minister's Bureau. In political circles it is now commonly accepted that the release of details of the attack may help bolster the public image of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. Some politicians have offered assessments that Olmert may decide to lift the curtain on details of the attack close to the 60th anniversary of Israel's independence, in early May.

Other political sources say that the American revelations on this matter will not result in a change in Israel's censorship policy, and insist that Olmert will not discuss the subject of the attack during holiday interviews.

The hearings at the House Intelligence Committee may be held in the coming weeks. Congressmen have included in the bill on the intelligence budget that American intelligence agencies will not be given large portions of their budget unless they reveal in full the details of the strike in Syria and the nuclear cooperation between Pyongyang and Damascus.

This has led U.S. and Israeli officials to conclude that American officials will release details of the strike during the hearings.

Talks between the U.S. and North Korea are schedule to resume tomorrow in Singapore. One of the American conditions for lifting the sanctions on Pyongyang is for it to expose its nuclear collaboration with other countries, which North Korea maintains does not exist. According to South Korean media sources, Pyongyang has agreed to provide the U.S. with information on its nuclear cooperation with Syria, on condition that Washington will not make this public. The same sources stated that the U.S. has given North Korea a list of engineers that are suspected of involvement in the construction of the installation that was targeted in Syria.

Meanwhile, readiness levels are high at Northern Command and in security for Israeli missions abroad, as well as at airlines, as concerns remain that Hezbollah will try to avenge the assassination of its terrorist mastermind, Imad Mughniyah in February.

The statement by Defense Minister Ehud Barak last week, that Israel would retaliate with a heavy hand against any attack, was made following deliberations with intelligence officials. There are concerns that an order to carry out a terrorist attack has already been issued - and Barak's tough words were meant to signal Hezbollah and its patrons, Syria and Iran, that Israel will respond to any attack.

synergy

Posted: Apr 23 2008, 04:49 PM

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CIA To Describe North Korea-Syria Ties LA Times | Paul Richter & Greg Miller | April 23, 2008 09:33 AM

QUOTE

CIA officials will tell Congress on Thursday that North Korea had been helping Syria build a plutonium-based nuclear reactor, a U.S. official said, a disclosure that could touch off new resistance to the administration's plan to ease sanctions on Pyongyang.

The CIA officials will tell lawmakers that they believe the reactor would have been capable of producing plutonium for nuclear weapons but was destroyed before it could do so, the U.S. official said, apparently referring to a suspicious installation in Syria that was bombed last year by Israeli warplanes.

The CIA officials also will say that though U.S. officials have had concerns for years about ties between North Korea and Syria, it was not until last year that new intelligence convinced them that the suspicious facility under construction in a remote area of Syria was a nuclear reactor, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity when discussing plans for the briefing.

~~~cont'd~~~

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