U.S. concentrating forces near Syrian border

World Tribune ^ | Wednesday, April 16, 2003 | unknown

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

U.S. concentrating forces near Syrian border <!****************************Cut and Paste Headline Above*****************>

SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COMWednesday, April 16, 2003

<!********************Cut and Paste Article Below********************>The United States has bolstered its military presence near the Iraqi- Syrian border.

U.S. officials said Central Command has ordered a buildup of assets in western Iraq. They said the buildup is centered at Al Rutba and includes M1A1 main battle tanks, AH-64A attack helicopters and A-10 ground-support fighter-jets.

The U.S. move aims to prevent the escape of Iraqi leaders and nonconventional military assets to Syria. They said U.S. forces will also ensure that Arab foreign volunteers based in Syria will be captured as soon as they enter Iraq.

Officials have assured Syria that the military buildup is not meant against the regime of President Bashar Assad. But Coalition forces have already attacked Iraqi targets within 10 kilometers of the Syrian border.

Officials said Syria has been harboring hundreds of regime leaders and insurgents connected to Saddam. One of them, they said, is Farouq Hijazi, an Iraqi intelligence agent and said to have led a plot to kill the father of President George Bush, who was also president, after the 1991 Gulf war.

Officials said the U.S. deployment near the Syrian border has been enhanced by cooperation from Iraqi tribes. They said U.S. special operations units are now located along such key routes as Highway 10, Highway 11 as well as around the northwestern town of Al Qaim. On Tuesday, an Iraqi army unit located near Al Qaim and said to have contained 16,000 troops formally surrendered to U.S. forces.

"We have forces that are located in a number of places along the Syrian border with Iraq," Brig. Gen. Vincent Brooks, deputy operations chief at U.S. Central Command said on Tuesday. "We have vehicle checkpoints that are located along some of the key routes. In the northwest area, Al Qaim is an important area for us. We have a presence there, at that very important crossing point. We are located in other areas as well that I would not want to be too specific about at this point."

"We have concerns about Syria," U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said. "We have let Syria know of our concerns. But there is no list, there is no war plan right now to go attack someone else, either for the purpose of overthrowing their leadership or for the purpose of imposing democratic values."

Earlier, Powell raised the prospect that the United States would impose sanctions on Syria for its help to the regime of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

So far, the United States has shut down the Iraqi-Syrian oil pipeline, which produced revenues of about $1.2 billion a year for the Assad regime.

Since 2000, the pipeline had brought up to 250,000 barrels of Iraqi oil per day to Syria, which were then sold abroad.

"We have been told that they have shut off a pipeline," Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said. "Whether it's the only one, and whether that has completely stopped the flow of oil between Iraq and Syria, I cannot tell you. We do not have perfect knowledge. We do know that they were instructed to shut it down, and they have told us that they have."

But Rumsfeld refused to discuss details of any plans to pressure Syria to surrender Iraqi weapons of mass destruction scientists. He said such decisions would be discussed by President George Bush and Powell.

"I don't have anything else to add on that," the defense secretary said. "The president's spoken on it. Secretary Powell has spoken on it. I'll leave that to them."

In an unrelated development, the United States has begun to withdraw more than 1,000 troops from Turkey. The Turkish military General Staff said in a statement on Tuesday that 1,166 U.S. soldiers would be flown out of the Incerlik air force base in southern Turkey by Wednesday.

The U.S. soldiers were part of a support effort for coalition air attacks on neighboring Iraq. They also helped establish supply routes to northern Iraq.

The Turkish statement said U.S. military equipment and supplies will be shipped out of the Turkish port of Iskenderun between April 15-23. U.S. officials said the no-fly zone in northern Iraq has also been discontinued. They said up to 50 U.S. combat jets deployed at Turkey's Incerlik air base have been redeployed.

"We have shut down Operation Northern Watch," Rumsfeld said. "The assets that were there for that purpose have been redeployed. We have not made final decisions with respect to the footprint of the United States in that part of the world, and won't for some months."

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Found this reference on the Drudge Report!

OFFICIAL BUMP(TOPIC)LIST

[Brett66]

That's probably why they sounded so much more concilatory today about creating a WMD free zone in the mid-east.

[SamAdams76]

It is apparent that there is a redeployment of U.S. forces going on in the region with an eye to future operations in the area.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

WMD free zone

I must have missed that one!

Got a link?

[Dog Gone]

The World Tribune is a completely unreliable news source.

[Dog]

Awww come on.....don't spoil the fun......:-)

[Brett66]

Here it is:

Syria Asks UN to Put Heat on Israel's Nuclear Arms

[caisson71]

HeeeHaaa, head'um up, move'em out!! Driver, forward.

[blam]

It's a 'slick' attempt by Syria to get at Israel. They have proposed a WMD free middle-east.

[RightWhale]

Syria could go for broke and attack with everything. Iran, too. One way or the other, the problem would be over. All the problems.

[gcruse]

That's probably why they sounded so much more concilatory today about creating a WMD free zone in the mid-east.

Conciliatory to strip Israel of her nukes?  Never play poker.

[AndyJackson]

The fulll article is as follows


By Irwin Arieff

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Syria, seeking to shift world attention from itself to Israel, asked the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday to help transform the Middle East into a zone free of all weapons of mass destruction.



Syria denies U.S. charges that it is developing chemical weapons, and accuses Washington of ignoring Israel, which is widely assumed to have nuclear weapons.


A draft resolution introduced by Syria in the 15-nation Security Council would welcome all initiatives aimed at establishing a "a zone free of weapons of mass destruction, in particular nuclear weapons," in the Middle East.


The draft calls on the council to take a central role in countering the spread of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons in the region and calls on all Middle Eastern governments to ratify a series of arms control treaties, including the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention.


Israel has signed the convention but never ratified it, while Syria has neither signed nor ratified.


Syria's U.N. ambassador, Mikhail Wehbe, said Syria would ratify it if all other governments in the region did so.


Wehbe introduced the resolution during a closed-door council session after getting a green light the day before from representatives of the Arab group of countries at the United Nations (news - web sites).


The Arab envoys gathered after top U.S. officials accused Syria of developing chemical weapons, giving sanctuary to fleeing Iraqi officials and assisting Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) in his effort to defend Iraq (news - web sites) against the U.S. invasion.



Wehbe said it was "very clear to everybody" that the U.S. charges aimed to shift attention from the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and "the Israeli killing of the Palestinian people."


U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte said Washington also wanted all Middle Eastern nations including Israel to get rid of all their weapons of mass destruction.


But he said the most pressing concern for the United States right now was to rid Iraq of all such arms. The United States has yet to find any weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.


He said Washington had expressed to the Damascus government its concerns about what he described as Syria's "ongoing weapons of mass destruction programs." Negroponte said that the United States believed that Syria had tried to acquire the materials needed to make chemical weapons.


Council diplomats said it was unclear where the Syrian draft would go from here -- or how fast -- now that it had been introduced.


Council members agreed to consult their governments on the measure and discuss it again at the expert level on Thursday.


Numerous governments have accused Washington of a double standard in threatening to crack down on Syria as well as Iran and North Korea (news - web sites) on the issue of weapons of mass destruction while ignoring Israel, which is believed to have some 200 nuclear warheads.


Israel declines to discuss its nuclear activities.





U.S. officials have said they hoped the example of Iraq's defeat at the hands of the U.S. military would persuade countries such as Syria, Iran and North Korea to give up their ambitions for weapons of mass destruction.

That has led to speculation -- denied by Washington -- that the United States, with hundreds of thousands of troops in neighboring Iraq, might invade Syria next.

[cynicom]

Two faced Turks hate to see money from the GI s, leave.

[Reagan Man]

This is a clear message to the Syrian's.

Stop allowing border crossings by Saddam sympathizers. Stop harboring Saddam sympathizers. Turn over all Saddam loyalists you have in your country. ASAP!... or else.

[Brett66]

Concilitory in a warped arab sort of way.

[MeekOneGOP]

U.S. concentrating forces near Syrian border

Excerpt:

U.S. officials said Central Command has ordered a buildup of assets in western Iraq. They said the buildup is centered at Al Rutba and includes M1A1 main battle tanks, AH-64A attack helicopters and A-10 ground-support fighter-jets.

The U.S. move aims to prevent the escape of Iraqi leaders and nonconventional military assets to Syria. They said U.S. forces will also ensure that Arab foreign volunteers based in Syria will be captured as soon as they enter Iraq.

Officials have assured Syria that the military buildup is not meant against the regime of President Bashar Assad. But Coalition forces have already attacked Iraqi targets within 10 kilometers of the Syrian border.

Please let me know if you want ON or OFF my General Interest ping list!. . .don't be shy.

[TLBSHOW]

I am waiting for this one to go down. Syria must be shocked!

[MeekOneGOP]

Game of cat and mouse goin' on !

[gcruse]

I'm not sure we're really ready for
Ali Baba's version of ethics. There's
a reason for the forty thieves.

[BOBTHENAILER]

But there is no list, there is no war plan right now to go attack someone else, either for the purpose of overthrowing their leadership or for the purpose of imposing democratic values."

Earlier, Powell raised the prospect that the United States would impose sanctions on Syria for its help to the regime of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein

There is a vitally important distinction between these two sentences that I wish our politicians and press would get a grasp of.

One "bestows, grants, freely gives," etc., the freedoms of democracy.

"Sanctions, penalties, sentences, punishments" are IMPOSED. Big difference.

[Sabertooth]

Looks like we're solving a Syria's border problem.

[the_Watchman]

I believe there might be a message for the Syrians, possibly for Saddam, and definitely for the Iraqi people who are probably still concerned about Saddam:

Saddam will not be allowed to stage a comeback from Syria in case that he has a large military contingent in reserve with that in mind. Any military incursion from Syria to Iraq will be met with force.

[expatpat]

The WMD-free zone is just an attack on Israel, and not helpful.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

As big as the country of IRAQ is, I think we need to send another Division over there!

[sarasmom]

"We have concerns about Syria," U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said. "We have let Syria know of our concerns. But there is no list, there is no war plan right now to go attack someone else, either for the purpose of overthrowing their leadership or for the purpose of imposing democratic values."

Colin Powell is telling the world the exact truth.Well, the "truth" that the world has demanded that diplomats speak.
Continguency Plans are NOT "War Plans", unless actually ordered implemented.
It may not even reach the level of a "War Plan".It could always be termed a Prolonged Surgical Strike Operation...or something.

And the reason may not actually involve "overthrowing their leadership or imposing democratic values".
It could evolve that the reason would be termed "the correct responce" to an "unnaceptable level of provocation".
You too, can learn to speak diplomatically, by taking my valuable $0.02 seminar. LOL!

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

The Factor and the Army General were just having a heavy discussion regarding Syria on the evening program, most of which I missed. Got to see the replay,

[LS]

No way, Sam. You heard it here first. There will be NO military actions against Iraq. The Prez does not want another war before settling Iraq and Afghanistan down; we can still bring about a peaceful revolution in Iran; and we need some time to allow the victory to settle in on our "allies."

Anything that needs to happen with Syria will occur without a shot being fired.

[TLBSHOW]

You too, can learn to speak diplomatically

LOL

[The Duke]

With carriers steaming back towards home I'm not sure how menacing such a move would seem(?)

[Crusader21stCentury]

We now have a large aircraft carrier to the east of Syria.

[Scott from the Left Coast]

Notice how all the murderous dictators in the world (and their friends and supporters like France, Canada, Russia, etc.) immediately turn to the U.N. to intervene in every issue.

The scum of the world certainly know the score when in comes to the U.N.

[sarasmom]

#22.
Classic!
Thank you, SIR!

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

We now have a large aircraft carrier to the east of Syria.

A really BIG Carrier that can handle any aircraft in our inventory!

[Samurai_Jack]

It's a 'slick' attempt by Syria to get at Israel. They have proposed a WMD free middle-east.

VETO MAGNET

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Catch the first part of tonight's O'Reilly - Factor show where he and the military consultants talk about what is going on there at the border.

[Grampa Dave]

Knock Knock on Assad's door!

Assad, "Who's there!"

Just the American 4th ID, with some Marine friends, some airforce friends and people we can't tell you about!
So just go about your business. By the way you can't do business with the Ba-ath party from Iraq.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Thanks!

[laz17]

The scum of the world certainly know the score when in comes to the U.N.

The U.N. is the friend of every tyrant and dictator on the planet, and "international law" is nothing but a euphemism for socialist moral equivalence.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

According to some of the military consultants on Foxnews we have Special Forces already in Syria nosing around along the border and perhaps some in Lebanon checking out things!

See the early part of the Factor show on Foxnews tonight!

[ping jockey]

This action is oustanding from a strategic point of view. We pile up on the border ostensibly to stop cross boarder activity we wish to stop. Syria gets nervous and masses thier troops along the border in a defensive posture.It puts a portion of the border control responsibilty on Syria. Hard to say "We (the syrians) are not supporting terrorist activity in Iraq " if the syrian terrorists have to pass thru about 50,000 syrian regulars to cross the border.If they continue to cross then Syria got some splainin' to do.

[Bonaparte]

"Officials have assured Syria that the military buildup is not meant against the regime of President Bashar Assad."

Now that's a dirty shame.

[sarasmom]

A-10s/B52s/B2s are air refuelable.
We now have many airstrips in Iraq for any air platform that is not.
I have heard the Army and the Marines are just hitting their "zone", and a lot of these folks are still "on the way".
We would not want to waste their valuable time, would we?
OK, so I dont believe it will be needed to attack Syria directly.But I am not in charge , and I do not have all the facts.If General Franks thinks we need to do so, I will bow to one with vastly superior decision making resources than what I have access too.
Speaking on behalf of a number of USA citizens, I am not even close to being "appeased" yet.
A couple hundred million seriously enraged Americans trump the "Arab Street" every time.
Is that not so?

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Yes, a very good point.

Seems like the right thing to do!

[Victoria Delsoul]

But Rumsfeld refused to discuss details of any plans to pressure Syria to surrender Iraqi weapons of mass destruction scientists. He said such decisions would be discussed by President George Bush and Powell.

"I don't have anything else to add on that," the defense secretary said. "The president's spoken on it. Secretary Powell has spoken on it. I'll leave that to them."

Don't you feel proud of our President and the military? For the first time in a looooong time we are getting some respect. Now, Syria proposes talks on WMD and North Korea too. This wasn't the case during the Clinton administration.

[Scott from the Left Coast]

If they continue to cross then Syria got some splainin' to do.

The suicide of Baghdad Bob is a great blow to Syria. They could have desperately used his talents for that explaining.

(Hey...the leftist RATS in this country would have believed him...)

[Sabertooth]

Thank you, SIR!

Pleasure's all mine, Ma'am.

[Beck_isright]

So when can we put another 4 divisions in Germany to invade France and remove the other terrorist threat? Or actually we should only need one division of girl scouts to get rid of the French problem.

[browardchad]

I think you're talking about General Vallely, who said the uprising in Mosul was the result of Syrian operatives sent across the border to stir up unrest. He also said Iran was doing the same among the Shiites in the south, and that WMD's had been moved to Syria in advance of the war to "embarrass" the coalition forces, since now they won't find any in Iraq.

If even half of this is true, it's incredibly stupid on the part of Syria and/or Iran. I would have expected both to wait a while -- at least until we reduce forces -- before trying to destabilize Iraq.