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Will Syria Be the Next Target in War on Terrorism?
CNS News ^ | 3-11-05 | Julie Stahl

Posted on 03/11/2005 9:15:29 AM PST by FlyLow

Syria's involvement in the Iraqi insurgency and its presence in Lebanon is likely to make it the next target in the Bush administration's war on terror, a retired U.S. military officer said here this week.

Under intensive U.S. and international pressure, Syria continued to withdraw its forces from Lebanon on Friday. But the withdrawal follows the reappointment of Lebanon's pro-Syrian Prime Minister Omar Karami -- the same man who resigned last week, in the face of street protests against his government.

President Bush has been leaning hard on Damascus, insisting that Syrian President Bashar Assad not only withdraw his troops, which have been entrenched in Lebanon for decades, but also his intelligence services.

But if Syria continues to stir up trouble in Iraq, the U.S. will take action against it, said retired U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Paul Vallely.

"If Syria continues to support and fuel the fires in Iraq... then we will see consequences there," Vallely told diplomats and reporters at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs in Jerusalem this week.

"I'm not saying it's all military. Certainly the military is [an] option on the table," said Vallely, co-author of the recently published book, Endgame: Blueprint for Victory for Winning the War on Terror.

"We are winning the war on terror," said Vallely. "So the question is then, what's going to happen next? I think we'll see some things in Syria."

Washington has long accused Syria of involvement in the battle against U.S.-led forces in Iraq.

(Excerpt) Read more at cnsnews.com ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: fasterplease; syria
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1 posted on 03/11/2005 9:15:30 AM PST by FlyLow
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To: FlyLow
I have been reading both FR and the DU and the DU is predicting Syria by May this year. I usually read the the DU for a laugh, but it is always good to keep tabs on the other side.

I don't think the US will have to do anything with Syria. If the war drums ring, Syria will cough up Saddam's WMD and that will appease the US.
2 posted on 03/11/2005 9:20:29 AM PST by PureTrouble
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To: FlyLow

Can someone please alert the admin that attacking other rogue nations only spawns terrorism? IMHO To effectively fight the WOT, it must be done on our own soil while keeping the best relations with our oversea's neighbors as possible.

Also when did Iraq become part of this war? I don't believe they had anything to do with 9/11, we went in because there was an imminent threat from Saddam that he wanted to use his supposed chems, etc on us. correct?

I'd much rather read about the infiltration of sleeper cells within the US than what type of rockets we're using on supposed terrorist states overseas.

-skeggs


3 posted on 03/11/2005 9:31:14 AM PST by skeggsaw
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To: skeggsaw

MOAB's in bekaa valley for starters. If the secret agents from syria are still in lebanon, MOAB's in damascus. Next... iran.


4 posted on 03/11/2005 9:36:48 AM PST by USS Alaska (Nuke the terrorist savages - In Honor of Standing Wolf)
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To: skeggsaw
Can someone please alert the admin that attacking other rogue nations only spawns terrorism?

Can you please tell me what nation we attacked prior to 911 that caused the attack?

What country did Russia attack before the school massacre?

And the Phillipines attacked what nation?

5 posted on 03/11/2005 9:37:53 AM PST by usgator
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To: PureTrouble
If the war drums ring, Syria will cough up Saddam's WMD and that will appease the US.

I wouldn't bet on either the premise of this statement being true (that Syria has Saddam's WMD's) - nor with the carry-on that if if they did that they will turn them over (they would simply smuggle them out of Country or destroy them) - Though I doubt they are even there to begin with -

Nevertheless Syria will be dealt with in the coming years with any large scale Military action being a very last resort -

6 posted on 03/11/2005 9:39:40 AM PST by SevenMinusOne
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To: skeggsaw

Not when the rogue nation supports terrorism. Saddam Hussein was visibly and publically supporting terror attacks against an ally (Israel) and privately supporting attacks against us. He was also murdering thousands of his subjects.

Syria has supported terrorism against us (and the rest of the West) for years. Syria was behind the bombing of the US Marine barracks in Beirut in the 80s.

Think about it. Would you rather that prospective terrorists die in their homeland (or someplace like Iraq), or have them gunned down in the streets of a large American city after releasing a bioweapon?

Personally, I want them killed as far away as possible. And taking out the nations that support and aid them is the best way to do that. We didn't win WW2 (or any war, even the Cold War) by sitting around and just defending our borders. You win wars by taking the war to the enemy and the enemy's homeland.


7 posted on 03/11/2005 9:40:12 AM PST by Spktyr (Overwhelmingly superior firepower and the willingness to use it is the only proven peace solution.)
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To: FlyLow

It would not be the best of ideas to pick a war with Syria. This can be resolved without war. There are bigger fish to fry. Let things calmly sit for a while. If Pres Hillary wants to invade Syria, that is soon enough.


8 posted on 03/11/2005 9:40:48 AM PST by RightWhale (Please correct if cosmic balance requires.)
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To: PureTrouble

Well, if the USA goes into Syria, I wonder what the MSM and the Liberals will have to say now, once the WMDS will be found ?
Once they find the WMDS and have proof they were hidden in Syria before the Gulf War II , then, the BUSH team and BUSH will be vindicated, and the MSM and Liberals will look all the more foolish.


9 posted on 03/11/2005 9:42:13 AM PST by Prophet in the wilderness (PSALM 53 : 1 The ( FOOL ) hath said in his heart , There is no GOD .)
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To: USS Alaska

"MOAB's in bekaa valley for starters. If the secret agents from syria are still in lebanon, MOAB's in damascus. Next... iran."

we drop the MOABs in the mornin'
and the Nukes at night...
..drop the MOABs in the mornin'
and the nukes at night.

Yeh!


10 posted on 03/11/2005 9:42:26 AM PST by roaddog727 (The marginal propensity to save is 1 minus the marginal propensity to consume.)
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To: USS Alaska

MOABS in Damascus, hey ? that has a ring to that, almost like a line in a song.


11 posted on 03/11/2005 9:44:24 AM PST by Prophet in the wilderness (PSALM 53 : 1 The ( FOOL ) hath said in his heart , There is no GOD .)
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To: Spktyr
Yup,, take the war to our enemies.
Those people who say we should not deal with the terrorist by going after them and use military force and say it will just invite more terrorism , guess what ? what difference does it make, the terrorist are mad at us anyway, and hate us no matter what we do.
12 posted on 03/11/2005 9:49:32 AM PST by Prophet in the wilderness (PSALM 53 : 1 The ( FOOL ) hath said in his heart , There is no GOD .)
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To: skeggsaw

Boy, you don't understand this war at all, do you? Where to get you started, hmmm....


13 posted on 03/11/2005 9:50:20 AM PST by thoughtomator (I believe in the power of free markets to do good)
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To: Prophet in the wilderness

Exactly. If they're going to hate us anyway, might as well give them a real reason to hate us - while we kill their support and work on exterminating *them*.


14 posted on 03/11/2005 9:53:51 AM PST by Spktyr (Overwhelmingly superior firepower and the willingness to use it is the only proven peace solution.)
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To: skeggsaw

"To effectively fight the WOT, it must be done on our own soil while keeping the best relations with our oversea's neighbors as possible."

If you're going to kill snakes, you kill them in their den. you don't wait until they show up in your living room.


15 posted on 03/11/2005 9:55:30 AM PST by meatloaf
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To: Spktyr

I have to disagree. We did not disarm Saddam because of this supposed involvement against Israel, or alleged attacks on us, which i have yet to see any documentation of. There was evidence of a WMD program posing an imminent threat to our national security. I guess we all know what happened there, we have yet to bring stability to the region, daily carbombs are 'not' cool with the iraqi people nor the sentiment against us it has produced. As someone said, if there was one Osama before Iraq, the iraq was produced 100.

We need to secure the borders and concentrate on the homeland. I think it's obvious that Al queda is on the verge of striking in some unconventional fashion which needs to be disarmed and stopped ASAP. The alerts are all over the news, they want to his us and hit us hard. So what are we going to accomplish for our people by striking countries overseas that pose no threat to us?

Unfortunately this is not world war 1 or 2, those wars were fought conventionally, army on army. todays wars are being fought in cockpits and control rooms where missles and bombs have become the norm, not a soldier with a bayonette. We must concentrate on the war happening inside our borders for a while, not what may be happening outside.

As someone said, "fighting for peace is like f*cking for virginity".

-skeggs


16 posted on 03/11/2005 9:58:57 AM PST by skeggsaw
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To: Prophet in the wilderness
what difference does it make, the terrorist are mad at us anyway

The Euros know that their feelgood EU is a sham state and ultimately relies on the protection of American military power for its continued existence. Now, as the security force of the planet, the US does not need to track down every minor criminal terrorist. The Euros want into the game under the big umbrella. Let the Euros work their diplomatic magic in Syria and Iran, and we will worry about the big picture.

17 posted on 03/11/2005 9:59:03 AM PST by RightWhale (Please correct if cosmic balance requires.)
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To: skeggsaw

Really? So all those ground troops in Iraq and Afghanistan are just sitting around on their butts doing nothing? Get real - the last three wars we were in were promoted as bing fought from control rooms and cockpits and that didn't happen. It's not going to happen for the forseeable future, either.


18 posted on 03/11/2005 10:04:47 AM PST by Spktyr (Overwhelmingly superior firepower and the willingness to use it is the only proven peace solution.)
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To: skeggsaw
Can someone please alert the admin that attacking other rogue nations only spawns terrorism?

Don't ask questions and don't make statements that actually are quite sensible, subject. The administration knows best.

I don't believe they had anything to do with 9/11

They didn't and evidence has been provided to back this up. I don't even think most in the administration believe it anymore. Haven't heard that line from most of them in awhile

we went in because there was an imminent threat from Saddam that he wanted to use his supposed chems, etc on us. correct?

Well yes but since that excuse fell through, we're in the business of 'spreading democracy'

19 posted on 03/11/2005 10:06:07 AM PST by billbears (Deo Vindice)
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To: RightWhale

EU diplomacy has accomplished nothing in the last twenty years other than prolonging the suffering of people everywhere. What on EARTH makes you think that they will *ever* accomplish anything.

EU Diplomacy = Appeasement.

And no, they *don't* know it's a sham state, and most of it doesn't want the US military to protect it. They're even talking about dissolving NATO.


20 posted on 03/11/2005 10:06:46 AM PST by Spktyr (Overwhelmingly superior firepower and the willingness to use it is the only proven peace solution.)
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