Thursday, March 27, 2003 Adar2 23, 5763
Assad: Syria fears becoming next coalition target
By Daniel Sobelman, Haaretz Correspondent, Haaretz Service and Agencies
Syrian President Bashar Assad was quoted in the Lebanese newspaper As-Safir Thursday as hinting that Syria expects to be the next target of coalition forces.
"We will not wait until we become the next target," Assad was quoted as saying, adding that the attack on Iraq is aimed at other countries as well.
Assad also called on other Arab nations to oppose the coalition forces and called Israel a threat to Syria, Israel Radio reported.
As long as the state of Israel exists, Assad was quoted as saying, Syria remains threatened. He also said there's no chance that U.S. President George W. Bush's road map would put an end to the Palestinian intifada.
In addition, Assad criticized Arab countries that are trying to stop the violence between Israel and the Palestinians, saying, "There are Arab nations that contribute to the suppression of the intifada even more than Israel itself does."
Assad said Washington's attitude towards Syria, which it has long deemed a state sponsor of terrorism, was constantly shifting as its interests changed.
"The United States and Britain will not be able to control all of Iraq. There will be much tougher resistance," Assad said.
"But if the American-British designs succeed - and we hope they do not succeed and we doubt that they will succeed - there will be Arab popular resistance anyway, and this has begun."
Syria, a staunch opponent of the week-old war to topple Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, has roundly criticized other Arab leaders for failing to support its efforts to avert what Assad called "outright occupation and flagrant aggression."
Arabs, seething with anger over the U.S.-led attack on Iraq, have protested almost daily since the war began last Thursday.
Several demonstrations have turned on the embassies of some Gulf Arab countries such as Kuwait and Qatar, from which the U.S.-led war has partly been launched and run.
Syria, currently the only Arab member of the UN Security Council, has faced U.S. pressure to back down in its opposition to a war on its neighbor and economic partner.
haaretzdaily.com |
