The bombing begins in five minutes
Posted on 02/18/2005 6:37:25 PM PST by Stoat
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U.S. to Syria: Probe Hariri Killing or Face Sanctions
Fri Feb 18, 2005 03:36 PM ET
By Saul Hudson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States warned Syria on Friday that it must help investigate the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri or face the possibility of further sanctions. Washington this week recalled its ambassador from Damascus because of its displeasure over Hariri's killing as well as its long-standing accusations that Syria allowed people in the country to help the Iraqi insurgency and to support attacks on Israel. Washington has previously told Syria to withdraw its 14,000 troops from neighboring Lebanon, crack down on anti-Israel militants it believes operate in the country and stop what it says is support for the Iraqi insurgency across its border. The call for Syria to join an investigation of the bombing that killed Hariri in Beirut on Monday was a new U.S. condition that Syria must meet if it is to avoid further punitive measures. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the United States wanted to force Syria to change its policies, which would help remove the threat of sanctions. "We are not trying to isolate Syria, what we are trying to do is to get Syria to engage in more responsible behavior and that responsible behavior includes agreeing to ... participate in an investigation of what happened to Prime Minister Hariri," Rice told reporters after meeting the Dutch foreign minister. Explaining her comments, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher told reporters: "The goal is to send a strong signal to Syria. We have done that in a variety of ways, we may have to do more things like that at some point, we'll see." "I'm not predicting anything in particular, but I'm not ruling anything out in terms of the various tools that we have available to send a strong diplomatic message to Syria," he added. "We'll see if Syria gets the message and takes action." Washington has not blamed Syria for the assassination on Monday that killed 14 other people but Lebanese opposition leaders have pointed the finger at Damascus, which has been the main power-broker in the country for decades. Syria has condemned the killing of Hariri, who opposed Syrian interference in Lebanon. The U.N. Security Council has asked Secretary-General Kofi Annan to look into the killing, a measure the United States hopes will lead to further action by the world body. When U.S. officials announced the ambassador's recall on Tuesday, they said they were also considering slapping new sanctions on Syria following the imposition in May of some economic sanctions under the Syrian Accountability Act. Among other sanctions, the United States at the time banned U.S. exports to Syria other than food and medicine, severed banking relations with the Commercial Bank of Syria and barred Syrian flights to and from the United States. |
Sounds like more Blah, Blah, Blah to me.
The UN should be the ones to spew nothing but words.
The US should always be the one that acts!
Could be, but the sharpness of the rhetoric has increased exponentially just during the course of events today. This is the first time that Syria has been given a specific demand and consequence by the US....let's see if they blink.
Re your comment about the UN, I would only wish to suggest that they UN keep it's word as well, just as the US does.
Oh bother (as Pooh says). That will never happen.
Try reading a Security Council Resolution. You need a double PhD in Gobbeldygook. But they always end with Decides to remain siezed of the matter... or some such. All that to say "We're watching you!"
And, then, it only takes 10 years of repeated violations of UNSCR's before they decide to threaten a country. Not act, just threaten that next time they might have to warn you that there may soon be a serious threat.
I didn't mean to suggest that it was going to happen....only that keeping it's word is a standard that the UN should be held to.
Will this be a compound sanctioning going back to last last time they were going to face sanctions?
Asking Syria to 'help' investigate the assassination of Hariri is like asking Al Capone to assist in finding the culprits responsible for the St. Valentine's Day Massacre.
President Bush needs to call up Assad Jr. on the phone and tell him that while he hasn't had the opportunity to look into his eyes and determine what's in his soul, that if he doesn't straighten up and fly right, that he better give that soul to Jesus, because his ASS is going to be OURS!
Time will tell, although I would suggest that the words from today are likely more meaningful than those uttered in past times because:
1. It's essential that our new Secretary of State be shown as someone whose words carry the full weight and force of US policy, particularly considering the fact that Dr. Rice is a female dealing in this case with a horrifically oppressive, misogynistic Islamofascist "culture". I'm guessing that President Bush will back her up 100% and will not give an inch.
2. Following through with our demands is essential to moving forward in the war on terror. The Islamofascists will be constantly probing and testing us, looking for any weakness. Making threats and then backing down from them at this particularly tense moment in history would be disastrous for the entire war effort.
Agreed, and that's why the US is going to insist upon full disclosure from the Syrians...from the article:
"The call for Syria to join an investigation..."
We aren't about to sit back and trust the Syrians.....they will undoubtedly be required to participate in a multilateral investigation, where we will have an opportunity to see exactly how forthcoming they will be.
President Bush needs to call up Assad Jr. on the phone and tell him that while he hasn't had the opportunity to look into his eyes and determine what's in his soul, that if he doesn't straighten up and fly right, that he better give that soul to Jesus, because his ASS is going to be OURS!
In that phone call, it could be suggested that he speak with his 'good friend' Ghaddafi in Libya for a bit of insight into the persuasive measures that the US has at it's disposal :-)
Agree. Enough is enough. Of course, Syria will have to wait in line behind North Korea and Iran.
I'm in a grumpy mood, and if it came across as directed at you, I appologize.
LoL!
I don't think Syria is going to blink. They have the mad Mullah in Iran backing them up, plus a crap load of Saddam's various poisons. Santions won't work. Bush just needs an excuse, and that's what he'll push Assad for. I think that Israel will really come into play here somehow, if push comes to shove. Syria by the looks of things has some of their own chemical weapon facilities as well, protected by missle instalations. If they toss one at Israel, I think it will be game over for Assad, and possibly Iran at the same time.
Just speculation on my part of course.
I wonder....consider this if you would:
North Korea is a fortress nation that is a threat to a variety of major powers in it's region (China, Japan, South Korea, etc) and it has been Bush Administration policy to pursue six-way talks with them, despite NK's insistence upon one-way talks with the US. By keeping the diplomatic talks multilayered, it places a whole lot more pressure on the NK government....and NK won't be able to demonize the US as 'oppressing' it in the talks. My guess is that NK will be left on the back burner so that it can be settled in a regional way, which will allow all parties involved to 'save face'....so essential to many Asian cultures.
Iran is a massive country, half as big as Western Europe. Satellite imagery has shown construction of massive hardened underground nuke facilities, eighteen football fields in size, spread out all over the country. Iran has an insane government but a very pro-American and pro Western civilian population. Iran needs to be dealt with from the inside, as it will be an extremely hard nut to crack from the outside. Israel may, however, beat us to a first strike because Iran has been directing most of their venom at Israel.
I'm thinking that if Syria is dealt with first, it will send a strong message not only to the Iranian government but more importantly the Iranian people, that we are deadly serious and will keep our word, at least under this current Administration. If Syria falls as Saddam's Iraq did, it would not only send a very powerful message but would provide one less ally for Iran as well as as a very convenient staging area for a possible assault against Iran or a base for covert ops.
Just my thoughts :-)
My fear is they may become dangerously unpredicatable if Syria falls.
Could be much worse. They might be put on "Double-Secret Probabtion".
Release the hounds...
We are not THAT crazy, no one wants a war! =)
Besides, it didn't work for Delta House and I doubt it would work here!
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