May 23, 2005
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Syria has severed military and intelligence cooperation with the United States, its ambassador to Washington told The New York Times in an interview published on its Web site on Monday.
The ambassador, Imad Moustapha, told the newspaper in an interview given last Friday at the Syrian Embassy in Washington, that his country had, in the last 10 days, "severed all links" with the U.S. military and Central Intelligence Agency because of what he called unjust American allegations.
Moustapha said he believed the Bush administration had decided "to escalate the situation with Syria" despite steps the Syrians have taken against insurgents in Iraq, and despite the recent withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon, in response to international demands.
"We thought, why should we continue to cooperate?" he said.
The comments were in response to Bush administration complaints that Syria was not doing enough to halt the flow of men and money to the insurgency in Iraq.
Moustapha said his government had done all it could to respond to American complaints, including taking steps to build barriers and add to border patrols.
Relations between Syria and the United States have been strained for months, and some Bush administration officials said Syria's level of cooperation had been dwindling even before the latest move to halt cooperation.
Bush administration officials said Syria's stance has prompted intense debate at high levels in the administration about new steps that might be taken against the Syrian government, The Times reported.
The officials said options included possible military, diplomatic or economic action. But senior Pentagon and military officials cautioned Monday that if any military action was ordered, it was likely to be limited, the report said.
"There's a lot of discussion about what to do about Syria and what a problem it is," the administration official, who works for an agency involved in the debate, told The Times.
Tuesday, May 24, 2005
US-led forces kill 2 suspected Taliban in new Afghan operations
By Azizullah Khan
QUETTA: At least five Afghan soldiers were killed when their vehicle went over a landmine in the Spin Boldak area of southern Afghanistan on Monday evening.
Afghan soldiers started firing in the air after the incident. Reports from Chaman city said Afghan forces were on routine patrol in the village of Sultan Zai, about 4 kilometres from the Pakistani border, when their vehicle went over a mine, which exploded and killed five soldiers. Afghan officials were not available for comment.
Separately, US-led troops killed two suspected insurgents in clashes on Monday in southern Afghanistan, as foreign and Afghan forces conducted three new operations to hunt for remnants of the ousted regime, AFP reported.
US Lt Col Jerry O’Hara said the two were killed in Deh Chopan, a troubled district in southern Zabul province after attacking US troops. “Two insurgents were killed and the others fled the area,” he added.
The operation, dubbed Nam Dong II, was launched last week focusing on south-central Afghanistan, considered a Taliban stronghold, he said. Coalition forces and Afghan troops launched two separate operations aimed at eliminating militants, the military said in a statement.
“Operations Celtic and Markham are also intended to root insurgents out of known safe-havens,” the statement said, referring to the country’s south and southeastern regions, where the militants are most active.
O’Hara said that the operations were led by Afghan forces and that the US-led coalition forces were providing assistance. He did not say how many soldiers were involved in the operation, citing security reasons.
The US military has been criticised for what many Afghans see as heavy-handed tactics, particularly in searches for militants and President Hamid Karzai, now on a visit to the US, said at the weekend he wanted more control of US operations.
Local authorities such as village councils, or shuras, were being kept abreast about the operations, the US military said. Troops on one of the operations discovered an arms cache containing hundreds of thousands of rounds of anti-aircraft ammunition, it said.
Political Inclusion the Key to Stability in Iraq
AUDIO -> http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4663315&sourceCode=RSS
All Things Considered, May 23, 2005 · Robert Siegel discusses the security situation and political landscape in Iraq with Barham Salih, minister of planning in the transitional government and one of the country's leading Kurdish politicians. Salih says that an inclusive political process will help create a more stable Iraq.