Syria gives passports to suicide bombers (ACT OF WAR)

The Times ^ | April 2, 2003 | Michael Binyon

[MadIvan]

THE SAS has arrested four busloads of suspected suicide bombers and would-be fighters in Iraq’s western desert.

The men, who are being held as prisoners of war, came from various Arab countries but all carried Syrian passports. They are thought to be among thousands of Arab zealots making their way to the battle front.

Syria has issued about 2,000 passports to people volunteering to fight for President Saddam Hussein in recent weeks, raising serious concerns in Britain and America, which suspects Damascus of smuggling war supplies to Iraq. The coalition is to protest to the Syrians.

Syrian officials have made no secret of their sympathy for the resistance of “the Iraqi people” to coalition attacks, although they have not voiced public support for Saddam.

Damascus has rejected accusations by Donald Rumsfeld, the US Defence Secretary, that Syria has provided Iraq with night-vision goggles.

The big worry is that many of the volunteers receiving passports may be suicide bombers, including Palestinians hoping to avenge themselves for US support of Israel. A captured Iraqi general said last week that up to 4,000 suicide bombers were ready.

British sources believe that up to 600 volunteers have crossed from Syria into Iraq or are about to do so. Sending fighters to join a combatant army is a clear breach of neutrality. “The Syrians are playing with fire,” one source said yesterday.

In Jerusalem, Shaul Mofaz, the Israeli Defence Minister, said that Israel viewed as “very grave” Syria’s role in helping the volunteers. He also issued a veiled warning to President Assad over comments in a Lebanese newspaper that Syria could be the next target in America’s War on Terror “as long as Israel exists”.

Mr Mofaz said that Mr Assad had effectively ruled out a peace agreement with Israel.

[MadIvan]

Are we supposed to believe that Iraq currently has border agents who are checking passports and turning away people who don't, especially when they're coming in to blow up Coalition forces?

I believe the ruse was that if they were passing through coalition checkpoints, they thought we wouldn't detain them as they are non-combatant foreigners. I guess they didn't reckon on the SAS.

No one ever said it was a good or intelligent plan.

Regards, Ivan

[Olde School]

RE: (BTW: Wasn't there some sort of bible verse that predicted that one day Damascus was going to be totally destroyed?)

I think the Bibical verse was about Babylon (even better). But I believe in a very loose interpretation -- feel free to substitute Damascus, Amman, Riyadh..

[thinktwice]

“The Syrians are playing with fire,”

He who enables a terrorist is also a terrorist.

[P.O.E.]

Sooner or later, Syria, Sudan, Iran, Somalia, etc. and all their terrorist offshoots need to be taken care of.

If Syria wants to expose some of their worst elements to coalition fire sooner, well, so be it.

[Dog Gone]

It's possible that Syria has decided that they're the unnamed member of the Axis of Evil, so they might as well get it on now.

But there were some early hints that they were actually cooperating in the initial war against al-Qaida and that's why they were not put onto that list.

[proud American in Canada]

"Syria's had it coming for a long time. Maybe the liberals were accidentally right. Iraq WILL be the first of a series of actions by the United States to change to geopolitics of the Middle East.

One can only hope."

bump to that. Thanks for posting, MadIvan.

[ellery]

Axis of almost-as-evil bump!

[x1stcav]

Consider an alternative though. If you toast them the Arab radicals get up in arms. 2-3 years in a tropical paradise? Smothered in kindness. I think this sort of treatment would be unbelievably hard for these scumbags to endure.

Anybody who has ever spent any time in the tropics can attest to the ennui that sets in and radically mellows people.

[ElisabethInCincy]

YES DAMASCUS IS TALKED ABOUT IN ISAIAH 17;1 .. FEW CHAPTERS AFTER THE DESTRUCTION OF BABYLON.. INTERESTING EH ? :)Isaiah 17


An Oracle Against Damascus

1 An oracle concerning Damascus:

"See, Damascus will no longer be a city
but will become a heap of ruins

[randog]

Arrested!? Line them all up. Then shoot all of them - except for one. Put that one back on the bus and send him back to Syria.

Almost. Take out the bus (while it's packed full of cheery jihadists) with an incendiary device. Roast 'em but good. Do this just as the bus crosses the border from Iran/Syria/Jordan into Iraq. Leave the charred bus/bodies right there on the road as a signal to fools that would follow.

[ElisabethInCincy]

sorry for the caps oops! ;-)

[mhking]

Great words on this subject come from a dishonored Klingon...

[ellery]

The administration hasn't made any secret of the fact that Iraq is a key to remaking the whole middle east. The liberals are wrong in that they think that's a bad thing. You know, because the status quo in the region is so wonderful and peaceful for the people who live there. /sarcasm

[AmericaUnited]

The only thing I can think of is that Syria is somehow trying to position itself as the new radical power in the arab world, the leader of the "arab street."

Dog, that makes an awful lot of sense.

[Dog Gone]

At this point, I don't think there is any legitimate traffic on the roads leading to Baghdad. If a vehicle is driving to Baghdad, it should be stopped by force if necessary.

[Nam Vet]

A member of the U.N. Security Council to boot? Tell me seriously if the U.N. has ANY credibility left in anyone's eyes.

Nam Vet

[Rippin]

Is this like Castros boatlift? Get them out of the country for good and don't have to feed them? Furthermore, if the Saudis give each family of thousands of men $50,000, Syrias per capita wealth total would multiply suddenly by 100. Not bad thinking if we put up with it I guess.

[EaglesUpForever]

Gitmo's going to get crowded. How about taking over France (they'll surrender instantly to anyone, wouldn't require a military effort) and making it one big Gitmo annex?

[Mad_Tom_Rackham]

These b*stards are really begging for it.