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Politics : Westi's Wild Ride -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: sandintoes who wrote (10283)	2/16/2005 2:06:00 AM
From: sandintoes	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 12762

Syria is up to their eyeballs in this terrorism... Syria blames Israel for assassination Says ex-Lebanese PM killed to 'bring anarchy to country' Posted: February 16, 2005 1:15 a.m. Eastern By Aaron Klein © 2005 WorldNetDaily.com Reacting to the near unanimous Western blame landing on Syria's doorstep for the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, Damascus yesterday went on the defensive and fingered Israel for the blast that killed Hariri and 17 others Monday. In a clear sign the Bush administration believes Syria was involved in the assassination, the U.S. yesterday called its ambassador to Syria Margaret Scobey back to Washington for "urgent consultations." State Department Spokesman Richard Boucher said the U.S. is expressing its "deep concern, as well as our profound outrage, over this heinous act of terrorism. Syria maintains a sizable presence of military and intelligence officials in Lebanon in contravention of the U.N. Security Council Resolution 1559." Boucher said the United States is outraged at "the continued presence and operational activities of international terrorist groups, and of the Iranian regime on and through Syrian territory, and the use of Syrian territory by the Iraqi insurgency." But the official Damascus press, considered a mouthpiece for Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime, condemned the murder as an "odious crime," and blamed Israel for seeking to create instability in Lebanon with the killing of Hariri. "What happened was an attempt to shatter national unity in Lebanon, to sow anarchy and divisions which lead to a climate of civil war," said the government newspaper Tishrin. The Jewish state "continues to work to sabotage Lebanon's achievements to try to bring anarchy to the country and to be able to continue its occupation of the Shebaa Farms," a strip of land along the Israeli border that Hezbollah says it is trying to reclaim, according to Tishrin. The editor-in-chief of Syria's official Ath-Thawra newspaper, Fayez Sayegh, said the attack on Hariri "targeted national unity and civil peace in Lebanon." Sayegh insisted Damascus "always welcomed Hariri as one of its sons and as a major Lebanese figure." But Hariri, a billionaire businessman who resigned from his government post last year and had recently joined calls by opposition leaders for Syrian troops to vacate Lebanon in the run-up to a general election in May, was close to many in the Israel government. Hariri was reportedly working behind the scenes the past few months to push for official Lebanese recognition of the Jewish state, and was involved in multiple business ventures with Israeli and Jewish businessmen. Sources say information flowing in continues to indicate the attack was coordinated by military elements in Syria in conjunction with terrorists on the ground in Lebanon. Syria maintains some 20,000 troops in Lebanon and is said to have been frustrated with recent calls by reformist Lebanese politicians, including Hariri, to remove itself from Lebanon's affairs. Many analysts agree Assad considers his influence in Lebanon a key factor to his position in the Middle East, and a successful campaign to drive Syrian troops from Lebanon would devastate the Assad regime. The assassination "is about the biggest thing that can be done to send a warning message to reformists in Lebanon," a source told WND yesterday. "It is a very sophisticated attack against a man who became the symbol of change and progress there." The U.S. and Israel have been seeking to isolate Syria for its support of the insurgency against American troops in Iraq and harboring of Palestinian terror groups, including Hamas. The U.S. congress in May passed the Syria Accountability Act, banning all American exports to the Arab country – except food and medicine – and forbidding direct flights between Syria and the United States. American officials have said they are contemplating further action against Damascus. There have been some reports the U.S. has been considering military incursions into Syria to stop the flow of arms shipments and insurgents into Iraq. worldnetdaily.com