Bolton and Syria - Missile tests show he was right about Damascus

OPINION JOURNAL.COM ^ | JUNE 6, 2005 | Terry Teachout

[CHARLITE]

On Thursday, Samir Kassir, a prominent Lebanese newspaper columnist and long-time critic of Syria, was murdered in Beirut when a bomb exploded under the hood of his car. The following day, we learned that Syria had test-fired three missiles the previous week--one Scud B, with a range of 190 miles, and two Scud Ds, with ranges of 400 miles. The missiles, of North Korean design, are configured to carry chemical warheads, according to Israeli security sources; they can hit any target in Israel along with U.S. military installations in Turkey, Iraq and elsewhere in the region.

There are several lessons here, but one of them is this: John Bolton was right.

President Bush's nominee to be Ambassador to the U.N. has been assailed because he pushed U.S. intelligence services for evidence of Syrian work on weapons of mass destruction. As Senator Chris Dodd put it, Mr. Bolton "was trying to convince people that there are weapons of mass destruction in Syria, at a time when there was no evidence of that."

We're glad somebody was on the Syrian case. A ballistic missile test is provocative enough, but missiles configured to carry chemical warheads are not the act of a country that wants to change along with the rest of the Middle East. The firing of the missiles--the first such "test" in four years--came just two days before Lebanon held its first round of parliamentary elections since Syrian troops quit the country in April.

[StarFan]

This might interest you!

[the anti-liberal]

Now if only we can get the MSM to carry this.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Right ON!!!!

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Now if only we can get the MSM to carry this.

The conclusion is too strong:

By now it should be clear to anyone who has followed this nomination that the fight here isn't over Mr. Bolton's record, his temperament or his reading of the intelligence. Rather, it is a policy dispute in which a majority of Democrats, as well as a few Republicans, have chosen to hijack the nomination process to score some points against President Bush's foreign policy. In the case of Syria, they owe both Mr. Bolton and Mr. Bush an apology. Americans need to understand the threat Syria poses to our troops in Iraq and to our allies in the region. That understanding isn't helped when Senators put their partisan animus ahead of the national interest.

[Greenpees]

True enough.

Anyone on FR could have come to the same conclusions as Bolton. Does that make us genius, or show some specialized understanding of M.E. issues.. No. It means we have common sense. And, to have common sense representing us at the UN is a good thing in the absense of any such sense, anywhere in that building.

Bolton is not a nominee due to genius..He's just right for the job because he'll kick *ss, that's all.

[Eagles6]

Thanks. Save for later.

[CyberAnt]

And .. about 4-5 years ago, the Jerusalem Post wrote a story about the moat that Syria had built around Damascus. Inside the moat were scud missles - aimed at Israel.

Evidently, it was the NK's who helped Syria get the technology and armament to propel their scuds to the desired destination. Isaiah 17:1 is coming all too soon.

[de Buillion]

Thank you for posting this- How do you manage to dig up all this stuff?

[YaYa123]

For sure this interest me............and since it's in a prominent publication, and can't be ignored, I'm even hopeful Republican senators fighting for Bolton's nomination, will successfully use it in his defense.

[Flyer]

"was trying to convince people that there are weapons of mass destruction in Syria, at a time when there was no evidence of that."

Classic Catch-22

"We should look for evidence of weapons of mass destruction"

"There is no evidence of weapons of mass destruction, so we shouldn't look"

[OESY]

This quote was telling:

"Which brings us back to Mr. Bolton, who has been denied a Senate confirmation vote because, among other charges, he challenged accepted intelligence wisdom. In the Syrian case, Senator Dodd and his comrade-in-filibuster Joe Biden concede that Mr. Bolton's final testimony to Congress on Syria's WMD was accurate and cleared with the State Department....

"As it happens, Messrs. Dodd and Biden both voted in favor of the 2003 Syrian Accountability Act. That law explicitly cites an unclassified CIA report that Syria "already holds a stockpile of the nerve agent sarin but apparently is trying to develop more toxic and persistent nerve agents. . . ." The law also notes that "Syria also is developing an offensive [biological weapons] capability."....

"By now it should be clear to anyone who has followed this nomination that the fight here isn't over Mr. Bolton's record, his temperament or his reading of the intelligence. Rather, it is a policy dispute in which a majority of Democrats, as well as a few Republicans, have chosen to hijack the nomination process to score some points against President Bush's foreign policy. In the case of Syria, they owe both Mr. Bolton and Mr. Bush an apology. Americans need to understand the threat Syria poses to our troops in Iraq and to our allies in the region. That understanding isn't helped when Senators put their partisan animus ahead of the national interest."


COMMENT: We'll see if on their upcoming roadshow the 9/11 Commission chairmen will criticize obstructionist senators Dodd and Biden for their attacks on Bolton, who is showing the "imagination" the Commission deemed necessary to fight the War on Terror. It would be interesting to have them explain how Bolton's challenging of accepted intelligence is contrary to their recommendations? More likely, wimpy Gov. Kean will cave once again.

[OESY]

Members of Sept. 11 Panel Press for Information on Terror Risk (NYT): The 9/11 panelists are regrouping to review progress in dealing with terrorist threats. From left, Lee H. Hamilton, vice chairman; Thomas H. Kean, chairman; and Fred F. Fielding, a panel member, in May 2004.

[OESY]

A Teary-Eyed Rebel Defies Party Leaders (NYT): Senator George V. Voinovich, left, greeting Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr. after a committee vote on President Bush's choice for United Nations ambassador, John R. Bolton. Mr. Voinovich opposes the nomination.

[OESY]

Delaware Senator Joe Biden is concerned that his anti-Bolton coalition may dwindle in the coming weeks resulting in the confirmation of President Bush's nominee to be Ambassador to the U.N.:

Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr., Delaware Democrat and ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said on ABC's "This Week" that he doubted his anti-Bolton caucus would be able to hold together indefinitely.

Asked whether there were enough votes to keep the filibuster going, Mr. Biden said: "I don't know."

"I'm going to be completely straight with you," he said. "I'm not at all certain we do."

-- Source: fromthebleachers.blogspot.com