Syria told 'stop flow of weapons to regime'

The Times ^ | April 10, 2003 | Roland Watson and Elaine Monaghan

[MadIvan]

SYRIA sat uncomfortably in Donald Rumsfeld’s line of fire yesterday, attacked for allegedly helping members of Saddam Hussein’s regime escape Iraq and for failing to stem military transfers to the virtually vanquished leadership.

“I’ve accurately observed that they would be well advised to not provide military capabilities to Iraq. They seem to have made a conscious decision to ignore that,” the Secretary of Defence said.

“Senior regime people are moving out of Iraq into Syria, and Syria is continuing to send things into Iraq. We find it notably unhelpful.”

Mr Rumsfeld has accused the Syrians of letting nightvision goggles into Iraq, potentially robbing the coalition forces of one of their greatest advantages on the battlefield.

Syria, which is already on a US shortlist of state sponsors of terrorism, has denied the allegation.

It did not make it into President Bush’s “axis of evil” states — comprised of North Korea, Iran and Iraq — but is among the ranks of so-called “state sponsors” of terrorism, along with Cuba, Libya and Sudan.

Mr Rumsfeld did not say who had fled to Iraq’s western neighbour. He said that the fate of Saddam, targeted by US bombs along with his sons Uday and Qusay on Tuesday, was yet to be learned.

But he made clear that some of the top Baath Party members, who the Americans had hoped would answer for the collapsing Iraqi Government’s crimes against its people, had apparently found their way to Syria, which had backed Iraq in the war.

“We are getting scraps of intelligence saying that Syria has been co-operative in facilitating the move of the people out of Iraq and into Syria,” he said. “Then in some cases they stay there and find safekeeping there, in other cases they move them from Syria to some other places.

“We also have seen in a number of instances people from Syria moving into Iraq, unhelpfully.”

Any military transfers to Iraq violated UN sanctions against its leadership that were imposed after Saddam invaded neighbouring Kuwait, sparking the Gulf War.

Syria’s President Assad condemned the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington and co-operated with the US in tracking down al- Qaeda members and other alleged terrorists.

But the State Department 2001 annual report on patterns of global terrorism said that Syria continued to harbour a series of Palestinian militant groups opposed to the Middle East peace process and to give them logistical support. They included Hamas, which carries out suicide attacks against Israel targets to deadly effect.

Syria was also accused in the report of serving as a primary transit point for the transfer of Iranian-supplied weapons to Hezbollah.

Mr Rumsfeld said yesterday that the US was worried about the possibility that the Iraqi regime might have succeeded in spiriting illegal weapons out of the country. He did not name Syria specifically.

The Secretary of Defence was clearly trying to stave off the criticism that will follow if the coalition forces fail to find illegal weapons in Iraq.

Not all of Mr Rumsfeld’s message was so downbeat yesterday.

He heralded yesterday’s unfolding Iraqi jubiliation as akin to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Iron Curtain.

Scenes of US Marines helping Iraqis to haul down statues of Saddam in central Baghdad were “breathtaking”, he said. Saddam would now join Hitler, Stalin, Lenin and Ceausescu “in the camp of failed and brutal dictators”.

President Bush declared it an “historic moment” as Washington forged ahead with plans for a post-war regime. US and Iraqi officials will meet near Nasiriyah on Saturday amid fears that the speed of the US advance through Baghdad has left a power vacuum. Dick Cheney, the US Vice-President, said that the meeting would begin piecing together an interim Iraqi authority.

With increasing numbers of US troops and tanks camped in central Baghdad, a senior US commander said that the end of the war was “days away”.

General Buford Blount, commander of the 3rd Infantry Division, said that his men had been through all buildings associated with Saddam’s rule, and that “there is no government left to speak of”.

As pictures of joyous Iraqis desecrating Saddam’s image were beamed around the world, a profound sense of vindication swept Washington. Mr Bush watched US Marines haul down a statue of Saddam, receiving regular updates while White House officials sat glued to their television sets. Tony Blair joined Downing Street staff watching pictures of the Iraqi television topeople “celebrating”. The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said that the whole of No 10 was “delighted” at the scenes portrayed from the Iraqi capital. But both allies struck a determinedly cautious tone, warning that the fighting was not yet over. Ari Fleischer, Mr Bush’s spokesman, said that the President was “heartened” by the capitulation of Saddam’s power structure, but added: “This remains a time of utmost caution.The President knows there is great danger that could still lie ahead.”

[Mister Baredog]

I would argue that as Syria also has advanced chemical weapons and missiles, we should take them out too.

Lebanon must be included, it's a suburb of Syria.