US War on Terror May Spread to Syria, Report Says
By Jeff McKay
CNSNews.com Correspondent
January 23, 2004
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(CNSNews.com) - A new report indicates that Syria may be the next target in the U.S. war on terror.
In a report released Friday by the London-based Jane's Intelligence Digest, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld was quoted as saying that the U.S. is considering "multi-faceted attacks," which could be conducted against Hezbollah positions in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, controlled by Syria.
According to the report, the U.S. move would "almost certainly involve a confrontation" between American Special Forces and Syrian troops.
The report highlights potential military action against Somalia as well as Syria. According to the Jane's report, "Covert U.S. forces have periodically infiltrated Somalia over the past two years to conduct surveillance and even potentially snatch suspects wanted for the November 2002 suicide bomb attacks in Mombassa, Kenya."
In near simultaneous attacks, al Qaeda terrorists bombed a hotel and attempted to bring down an Israeli airliner using a shoulder-fired, surface-to-air missile.
In addition, the Jane's report states that during the past six months, there has been an increased US military presence along the Syrian border with Iraq "and, on several occasions, [the U.S.] has sent special forces into Syrian territory or penetrated Syrian air space."
The report also detailed a running gun battle between Saddam loyalists and U.S. troops who crossed into Syrian territory, resulting in the deaths of dozens of people, including Syrian nationals.
The Syrian government has always maintained close ties with both Iraq and Iran, and has been a hotbed of Arab radicalism, allowing terrorist groups such as Hamas and Hizbullah to maintain offices in Damascus.
The ruling power in the Syrian government is the Baath Party, a secular and socialist-leaning political group headed by Syrian President Bashar Assad, the son of former Syrian leader Hafez al-Assad. Saddam Hussein and the Baath Party led Iraq before its fall to U.S.-led coalition forces.
Administration officials have expressed increasing frustration with Syria and have said the country "is on the wrong side in the war on terror."
Just last year, Congress adopted the Syrian Accountability Act, a comprehensive outline pledging sanctions if Syria does not halt its support for terrorism, end its occupation of Lebanon, stop its development of weapons of mass destruction, cease its illegal importation of Iraqi oil, and be accountable for its role in the Middle East.
Over the last three weeks, three high ranking Cabinet officials have made it clear that Syria needs to take immediate proactive measures to create stability in the Middle East.
While briefing reporters after President Bush's recent trip to Mexico, National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice suggested that hundreds of millions of dollars - and maybe Iraqi weapons -- may have been smuggled into Syria.
"There are a number of issues that we'd like to discuss with the Syrians......including the borders with Iraq and what may have happened in the past there and what may be continuing to happen there," said Rice.
Earlier this week, an Israeli soldier was killed while clearing mines planted by Hizbullah at the Israel-Lebanon border, when Hezbollah terrorists fired anti-tank weapons. Israel responded by shelling Hizbullah positions during a raid by the Israeli Air Force in Lebanon.
The terrorist action launched from Syrian-controlled Lebanese territory drew a rebuke from Secretary of State Colin Powell.
"The deliberate action that [Hizbullah] took, which resulted in the loss of life, once again demonstrates the nature of that organization," Powell told reporters. "I would hope the Syrians would, once again, understand that any support (for terrorists) is destabilizing in the region and is not in the interest of peace."
The Jane's report said any U.S. action against Hezbollah in Lebanon could create a domino effect, creating immediate instability in an already unstable region.
"The political consequences of a U.S. attack against Lebanon...could result in the destabilization of a country that is still rebuilding its infrastructure a decade after a ruinous 15-year civil war and would also fuel Muslim and Arab hostility toward
the US at a time when US-led occupation forces are fighting the ongoing insurgency in Iraq," noted the report. It also said any U.S. actions could lead to a regime change in Syria.
"However, given the Bush administration's doctrine of pre-emptive strikes, it remains entirely possible that Washington will soon launch military strikes against Lebanon, regardless of the consequences for wider regional stability," the Jane's report said.
US objectives from a confrontation with Syria would include neutralizing Hezbollah and ending its presumed connections with al Qaeda; withdrawal of Syrian occupation forces from Lebanon; potential regime change in Damascus; and creating better coexistence between Israel and Syria.
With U.S. troops regularly patrolling the Iraq-Syrian border, and with a massive military presence in the region, the question of whether the war on terror would lead to Damascus is an ongoing topic of discussion in some quarters.
"Syria clearly needs to do more," said Jon Alterman, Director of Middle East Programs for the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.
"While there are some in the office of the Secretary of Defense who may want to raise the options, raising the options doesn't mean the action is around the corner," he said.
"While the Syrians are looking into many avenues, including re-starting peace talks with Israel, it is clear the government can't keep doing what it has been doing."
Alterman, who was in Syria as recently as a month ago, says this is a time of confusion on the "Syrian street" as to what path their government will take in the post-9/11 world.
"The Syrian people do not know what role their nation should play in the world. They do know that with their ties to Iraq cut off, their world is changing," Alterman added.
Jim Besser, the Washington correspondent for The Jewish Week said he doubts U.S. military action against Syria is imminent: "I don't see this administration embarking on another military campaign while issues are still pending in Iraq, and before an election with successes already in hand," he said.
"There needs to be peaceful coexistence in the Middle East between Israel and its neighbors, but without the terror groups reined in, the region will remain unstable."
According to Besser, although an imminent military move against Syria is unlikely, he believes the US-led war on terror will not end in Iraq.
"In the end, one thing that is for sure is there must be a focus on al Qaeda, and all groups with al Qaeda ties," he said. |
