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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Lizzie Tudor who wrote (393259)	4/16/2003 2:48:51 PM
From: Neeka	Respond to of 769670

Great! Yes! Absolutely! M

To: Lizzie Tudor who wrote (393259)	4/16/2003 2:51:42 PM
From: username	Respond to of 769670

Not their oil, it belongs to the citizens of Iraq. <G>

To: Lizzie Tudor who wrote (393259)	4/16/2003 3:06:51 PM
From: Sully-	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769670

So you think that one evil terrorist regime illegally sending oil to another evil terrorist regime, so both can prosper, is a good thing & we should have just let it continue?

To: Lizzie Tudor who wrote (393259)	4/16/2003 3:10:08 PM
From: w0z	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769670

U.S. says Syria telling Iraqis to leave capital Officials say Damascus may be willing to cooperate NBC, MSNBC AND NEWS SERVICES April 16 — After a series of warnings from top U.S. officials, including President Bush, the Syrian government has ordered Iraqi diplomats to leave the country, U.S. military and intelligence officials told NBC News on Wednesday. In addition, the Syrians have told other Iraqi diplomats — now out of a job since the downfall of Saddam Hussein’s regime — not to seek refuge in Damascus, the officials said. BUT THE OFFICIALS said they remain skeptical about Damascus’s intentions. “Let’s see if they actually make good on the order,” one official said. In Damascus, a government spokeswoman said Syria was willing to cooperate with the United States when it came to Iraqis. But she said Damascus would not close the offices of radical Palestinian groups, one of Washington’s long-standing demands. “Syria will always cooperate in things that serve the Iraqi people’s interests,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Buthaina Shaaban said. The offer echoed a recent softening from Washington in previously tense exchanges between the two countries over Iraq. The United States had accused Syria of of providing Iraq with war material, giving haven to senior Iraqi officials and permitting foreign fighters to join the war against the U.S.-led coalition. The latest official was Farouk Hijazi, the Iraqi intelligence chief sought by the United States, who arrived in Damascus from Tunis on Tuesday, U.S. officials said. Hijazi was director of external operations for the Iraqi intelligence agency in the mid-1990s, when it allegedly tried to assassinate President Bush’s father during a visit to Kuwait. SYRIAN DENIALS Syria’s government has denied Washington’s allegations, but the charges raised concerns among some people that Syria could be the next U.S. target. On Tuesday, Secretary of State Colin Powell toned down the administration’s rhetoric. “There is no war plan to go and attack someone else, either for the purpose of overthrowing their leadership or for the purpose of imposing democratic values,” he said, although he also repeated the accusations against Syria. Other U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity Tuesday, said Syria had been quietly helpful in the war against the al-Qaida terror network and there was no evidence that help was abating. NOT SO BAD? The foreign ministry spokeswoman also sought to downplay the tension. “Things are not so bad. . . The diplomatic channels are much quieter and much more constructive,” Shaaban said. “I really take all these statements with a positive tinge to them. The objective is to engage and talk about issues rather than to threaten.” Meantime, Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Sharaa said Wednesday that his government was prepared to sign a U.N.-authorized treaty that would declare the Middle East a zone free of weapons of mass destruction. Syria, the only Arab nation on the Security Council, said it would present to the council a draft resolution on such a treaty on behalf of the 21 Arab member states. Al-Sharaa told the Australian broadcast service SBS that it would be better “for every citizen on Earth” if the Middle East were free of such weapons. Al-Sharaa also said his country did not recruit or train the Syrians who recently crossed into Iraq to fight for Saddam. BLAMING ISRAEL At the briefing, the Foreign Ministry spokeswoman charged that the accusations from U.S. leaders were initiated in Israel and called them “absolutely groundless.” SUPPORT FOR SYRIA Meantime, Iranian President Mohammad Khatami called on the United States on Wednesday to stop threatening Syria but said a U.S. military attack on Iraq’s western neighbor was unlikely. “Our advice to the Americans is to abandon such threats,” Khatami told reporters after a cabinet meeting. “We reject U.S. threats and allegations about ourselves, and I think the same goes with Syria.” Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar said Tuesday that Syria was a friend of his country and would not be the target of any military campaign, while Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien told reporters on a trip to the Dominican Republic that the U.S. allegations should be addressed in the U.N. Security Council. In New York, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said he was “concerned that recent statements directed at Syria should not contribute to a wider destabilization in a region already affected heavily by the war in Iraq.” NBC’s Tammy Kupperman and Jim Miklaszewski in Washington, Robert Windrem in New York, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report. msnbc.com