[anotherview]

408-8. I wonder who the eight weasels were.

Ooops... my apologies to weasels. Unfair to them to be compared to politicians unwilling to act against terrorists.

[anotherview]

ping

[Lijahsbubbe]

Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage agreed, saying that when Secretary of State Colin Powell visited Damascus in May "he made it very clear to President Assad and his colleagues that they had come to a fork in the road. ... They didn't choose to take the right one."

Whoops, looks like they're on the road that will lead to meeting the US military.

[sarasota]

Oh dear...it's going to "damage [our] overall standing in the Middle East". Note to Syria: the damage has been done. This is part of our "damage control".

[yonif]

The House on Thursday voted 408-8 in favor of a Senate-amended version of the legislation that, at the urging of the White House, gives the president greater leeway to waive the punishment on the basis of national security.

National security eh? Just like the fact President Bush continues to waive the house resolution calling for the US embassy to move to Jerusalem, and just like the President waving sanctions over the PLO terror regime, allowing their offices to remain open, and allowing it to continue to receive US aid, even though it engages in terrorism against Israelis and Americans.

[Grampa Dave]

I was not able to find the congressits who voted no.

However here are the Senators who voted no:

Voting against the bill were Sens. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., Lincoln Chafee, R-R.I., Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., and James Jeffords, I-Vt.

I know nothing about Enzi, but the other 3 are a complete waste of skin and oxygen.

[GalaxieFiveHundred]

[zx2dragon]

That would be HR 1828, glad to see it went through.

Another one to keep an eye on is aimed at the Saudis, S 1888.

[anotherview]

BTTT.

[Davea]

U.S. deploys 20,000 troops near Syrian border

WORLD TRIBUNE.COM ^ | Wednesday, November 19, 2003

Posted on 11/19/2003 1:25 PM PST by Mossad1967

The United States has deployed 20,000 troops along the Syrian border after Syria failed to stop militants from crossing into Iraq.

As late as October, U.S. officials said hundreds of Islamic insurgents were crossing into Iraqi from Syria. They said Syrian authorities had failed to respond to U.S. appeals to stop the flow of insurgents.

U.S. military officials said the U.S. troop presence was bolstered beginning in September and has resulted in a significant drop in infiltration from Syria. The U.S. troops are based in the Iraqi province of Anbar, Middle East Newsline reported.

Maj. Gen. Charles Swannack, commander of the 82nd Airborne Division, said the military completed a 200 percent increase in U.S. troops at Anbar. Swannack told a briefing in Baghdad on Tuesday that the increased deployment was also meant to stop infiltration from other Iraqi neighbors, such as Jordan and Saudi Arabia. But the U.S. presence has not halted the flow of insurgents from Syria. On Monday, the U.S. military said six suspected insurgents were captured near the Syrian border. One of them was later killed when he tried to attack a guard.

Swannack said the U.S. troop presence in Anbar has resulted in reducing the flow of insurgents from Syria. He said Islamic insurgents have launched attacks against the U.S. force near the 500-kilometer Syrian border. But he called the attacks ineffective.

"We are not fighting foreign fighters coming across the border in significant numbers," Swannack said. "We are fighting mostly former regime locals."

[AmericanVictory]

although Syrian officials have warned that it would damage America's overall standing in the Middle East.

?????