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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: epsteinbd who wrote (85962)	3/25/2003 10:11:44 AM
From: Giordano Bruno	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

Mar. 25, 2003. 05:35 AM Syria warns U.S. of a new Vietnam MITCH POTTER IN SYRIA DAMASCUS—American forces in Iraq are unwittingly marching into a "small-scale Vietnam" that won't begin until U.S. victory is declared, a senior Syrian official warned yesterday. And mounting U.S. losses will continue long after the Iraqi regime is gone until the last American soldier leaves the country, said Syrian Information Minister Adnan Omran. "The day they defeat the Iraqi regime and take control is the day the disaster begins," Omran told the Star in a private briefing. "In Baghdad, they will find themselves facing daggers drawn from every corner. It will be a small-scale Vietnam. Small cuts will be made day after day and week after week until the Americans are gone. "It is incredible that George Bush has been deceived by his advisers into believing he is poised for victory," Omran said. "This advice is based on the most stupid calculations ever made of the social dynamic in Iraq." Syria stands alone in the Arab world for its blanket condemnation of the Washington-led invasion. But most senior Syrian leaders just echo the defiance of Baghdad. They express confidence in the Iraqi regime's dubious ability to withstand the coalition onslaught. Omran's comments amount to a tacit acknowledgement that the Iraqi regime is likely to fall. But the aftermath will cost American lives as Iraqis reassert their claim to self-determination with guerrilla-style attacks against the "foreign invaders," he said. The Syrian minister's warning came on a day of mounting fury as Syrians absorbed the news of deadly air strikes Sunday night on a busload of Syrians fleeing war-torn Iraq. Five Syrians were killed and 13 injured in the attack by U.S. and British jets at Al-Rutba, 160 kilometres from the Syrian border. Syria condemned the attack as a "brutal aggression against unarmed civilians," summoning the U.S. and British ambassadors to lodge a formal protest and to serve notice it would claim damages. "This is a dangerous matter and refutes claims that the American and British only hit military targets," Omran said. "I don't know how a bus carrying people returning home and escaping bombardment and destruction can be mistaken as a military target. These were civilians." The bus was loaded with manual labourers racing to flee the conflict. Syrian Television interviewed survivors, who said the attack occurred during a stop to allow more passengers on board. "Suddenly, we heard an enormous explosion and then the noise of a plane, but we couldn't see it," a witness told Syrian Television. Maj.-Gen. Stanley McChrystal, vice-director of operations for the U.S. military's Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the bombing was an accident. "Unintended casualties like this are regrettable. We extend our sympathies to the families of those civilians who were accidentally killed," he told Reuters News Agency. National grief over the attack is expected to fuel a demonstration in Damascus this morning, the sixth major street protest since the outbreak of war. But unlike earlier demonstrations, today's march is expected to be carefully controlled by Syrian authorities. "For the first few days, the marches were very spontaneous, with people from all walks of life who don't normally take to the streets carrying homemade signs," a Western diplomatic source said yesterday. "Now, there's a sense that the Syrian government has it under control. It's like fine-tuning a faucet. This march will be very organized and directed, to allow people a release for the sadness and anger they feel, but not to let things get out of hand." Relatively few of those joining the protests are Iraqis, despite the fact that Syria is now home to an estimated 500,000 Iraqis, many of whom fled their homes in the run-up to war. Most are staying with friends or in rented homes, waiting for the conflict to end. Most of the displaced Iraqis are believed to be Shiite Muslims from southern Iraq. Although Shiites comprise a majority in Iraq, they have long suffered discrimination under Saddam Hussein's Sunni Muslim-dominated regime and are unlikely to lament its passing. Additional articles by Mitch Potter thestar.com