Is it me or...

AZCB34 · April 14th, 2003, 07:20 AM

...do we seem to be lining up Syria in our crosshairs now? I mean, we seem to be hearing alot of the same accusations with regard to Syria that we were hearing with Iraq. Considering our job in Iraq is NOWHERE NEAR finished, I find it odd we are poking a fight with Iraq's neighbor.

Mike Olbinski · April 14th, 2003, 07:30 AM

Also I heard that two of our carriers are headed home, so that doesn't help the "attack Syria" thoughts....

Mike

Dback Jon · April 14th, 2003, 07:52 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by AZCB34
...do we seem to be lining up Syria in our crosshairs now? I mean, we seem to be hearing alot of the same accusations with regard to Syria that we were hearing with Iraq. Considering our job in Iraq is NOWHERE NEAR finished, I find it odd we are poking a fight with Iraq's neighbor.

While I think Syria is in our crosshairs, Bush & Company knows it would be foolish to attack them (at least for now). One of the tenets of the Bush Doctrine (actually, the Wolfowitz Doctrine) is to aggresive assert force on one country, with the intent on affecting many. Syria is (or should be) very scared, and there is a good chance that they can be brought around diplomatically.

Syria depended on Iraq for a good portion of its economy. The new leadership in Iraq will probably not look favorably upon Saddam's old buddies. With NATO ally Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Isreal to the southwest, and generally pro-U.S. Jordan to the south, Syria needs to play nice unless it wants to go into total economic ruin.

Dback Jon · April 14th, 2003, 07:58 AM

US considering economic, diplomatic sanctions on Syria: Powell
19 minutes ago Add Top Stories - AFP to My Yahoo!

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States may impose sanctions on Syria for its alleged support for members of Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s former regime, its pursuit of weapons of mass destruction and backing of terrorism, US Secretary of State Colin Powell (news - web sites) said.

"We will examine possible measures of a diplomatic, economic or other nature as we move forward," Powell told reporters at the State Department.

"We are in touch with Syrian authorities ... and will make them aware of our concerns and we'll see how things unfold as we move forward," he said after a meeting with visiting Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Mohammed Al-Sabah.

Powell echoed Bush's remarks and said Syria should not allow any one of the 55 senior Iraqi official wanted by US forces to enter the country.

"These are the kinds of individuals who should not be allowed to find safe haven in Syria," he said, adding that if any of them had crossed the border, they should be detained.

"Once they get into Syria and start heading to Damascus, I would expect Syrian authorities would do everything they could not to provide these people safe haven," Powell said.

He spoke as US officials have stepped up dire warnings to Damascus in recent days, saying they would not tolerate Syria giving safe haven to members of Saddam's government or accept its pursuit of weapons of mass destruction.

On Sunday, US President George W. Bush (news - web sites) said Syria was developing chemical weapons and urged Damascus to cooperate with Washington as the war on Iraq (news - web sites) continues.

"We are concerned that Syria has been participating in the development of weapons of mass destruction, as the president noted, specifically chemical weapons," Powell said.

"We believe that in light of this new environment they should review their actions and their behavior, not only with respect to who gets haven in Syria and weapons of mass destruction but especially the support of terrorist activity," he said.

"We have a new situation in the region and we hope that all the nations in the region will now review their past practices and behavior," Powell said

AZCB34 · April 14th, 2003, 12:45 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Chandler Mike
Also I heard that two of our carriers are headed home, so that doesn't help the "attack Syria" thoughts....

Mike

I was never suggesting attacking Syria was imminent or anything. I was merely commenting on how we are poking at them now when the Iraq deal is nowhere near finished.

As for the 2 aircraft carriers leaving, they could be coming back for standard maintenance or simply returning to their normal patrol areas. Just because they are leaving though also doesn't mean we won't keep poking the Syrian beehive.

Is it me or...

Re: Is it me or...