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Thread ID: 5853 | Posts: 3 | Started: 2003-03-28
2003-03-28 20:34 | User Profile
Assad-Interview Syrian Arab News Agency, Thu 27 Mar 2003
Damascus, March 27(SANA-
President Bashar al-Assad yesterday received the Lebanese daily alSafir Editor-In-Chief and gave him an interview published today.
With regard to the historic perspective of the war on Iraq and with regard to what US. Secretary of State Colin Powell recent statement that the war aims at reshaping the Middle East as a whole ,the president indicated that the Arabs looked with sadness at Saykis-Bicot Agreement which partitioned the region and we dealt with it as a temporary event.
The Arabs ,the president added had similarly felt sad when Palestine was occupied in 1948,but we did not know that the occupation was planned by the Zionist Congress in the 19 century.
President al-Assad pointed out that what is going in Iraq was planned before and the Iraqi and the Palestinian issues are inseparable as far as the US. administration and the Zionist lobby within this administration are concerned.
The president added that the historical aspect of invasion includes the interests of the major powers, the mistakes of the Arabs and the interests of the Israeli enemy.
He underlined that the aggressors have removed their masks declaring that they want the oil and tailoring the region in line with the Israeli interests so that when Iraq is partitioned to sectarian and ethnic cantons ,Israel will gain legal status socially .
In his reply to a question that the overall Arab order seems involved in the war against Iraq because the war is being launched from Arab territories, using Arab territorial waters and airspace as well as an Arab cover, in contrast to the Syrian position, the president indicated that Syriaââ¬â¢s view points are based on experience and Syriaââ¬â¢s experience with Lebanon is well known and Lebanon can be considered as the first real and actual experience for all the Arabs.
President al-Assad went on to say that when Lebanon began resistance it was a small divided country and there were declared agents such as Southern Lebanonââ¬â¢s Army, and those who contributed to Beirut occupation ,as wellas those who worked hard to conclude 17 of May Agreement . But Israel emerged defeated then.
The president underlined that Iraq is a major country that has big scientific ,material and human potentials whereby what Lebanon had achieved can at least be achieved and at most more can be achieved .
The president underlined that Syria was not surprised at the Iraqi resistance because Syria supported the Lebanese resistance and contributed to liberation of most of part of Lebanon from the Israeli occupation ,but the situation in Palestine is different because the Palestinian citizen has been encircled .
The president stressed that although some Arab countries have contributed more to the quelling of the Intifada than Israel, yet when the people decide to resist you can have clear results and one can see the results of two and half year of the Intifada on Israel.
He indicated that such being the fact, the United States can occupy a relatively small country but the question is whether it can take control of that country . There will be a lot more resistance and this will refute the allegations of some of the Arab officials who tried intentionally or unintentionally to depict a different reality from the current situation.
In reply to a question regarding the repercussions of war on the region, President alAssad indicated that right from the very beginning Syria has warned that the war would lead the Arabs to the unknown and the repercussions depend on the peopleââ¬â¢s reactions which have so far have taken the direction of steadfastness and resistance.
The president underlined that if the US. plot succeeds there will be Arab popular resistance which has actually started.
President al-Assad stressed that the first lesson the Iraqi citizen has learnt is that leaving his country means leaving it for good and therefore the only solution is resistance and following the example of the Intifada.
As regard the Iranian position ,the president stressed that there has always been coordination and consultation between Syria and the Iranians . The Iranian position is very clear and what the Iranians say they commit themselves to it and this a very important point.
Regarding President alAssad latest visit to Britain , the president underlined that the visit aimed at underlining the importance of the implementation of the Security Council resolutions to prevent the war on Iraq since Syria is a member of the Security Council and that dialogue with Britain was important at that time regardless of agreement or disagreement.
Concerning relations with Turkey, President alAssad underlined that bilateral relations have gained momentum in recent years but by the recent visit of Turkeyââ¬â¢s Former Prime Minister of the current government ,Abdullah Gul to Syria the standing bilateral relations have gained special momentum particularly after the Iraqi question was raised. There was agreement that the Iraqi issue imposes a common threat to neighboring countries.
The president underlined that the Turkish refusal to allow the American to attack Iraq from the north was the result of the common vision of Syria and Turkey . Syria knows very well that the majority of the Turkish people are against the war.
Regarding if Syria is threatened by this war ,President alAssad underlined that as long as Israel remain in existence the threat remains standing and as long there is a war next door the danger remains standing .
Concerning a question whether Syria is capable of deterring such a threat ,the president indicated that militarily Syria may be weaker than a superpower but the issue is the issue of land and land is Syriaââ¬â¢s land . There is no balance between an American and an Iraqi yet the Iraqi people are courageously defending their land.
President al-Assad underlined that at the recent Arab summit
he announced that this time not only Baghdad would be involved in the war like what had happened at the time of the moguls invasion but other Arab countries will be involved as well.
The president indicated that the US. invasion provides a cover for the Israeli crimes against the Palestinians.
With regard to a question regarding the Syriaââ¬â¢s stance of the Israeli-Arab conflict the president underlined that there is no country doesnââ¬â¢t agree with Syriaââ¬â¢s position that calls for the withdrawal of the Israeli troops to the line of 1967,and the implementation of the Security Council resolutions. But Syria should be prepared for any Israeli attack. And this what Syria has always done throughout history.
Concerning Syriaââ¬â¢s support to Iraq, the president underlined that the Iraqi officials previously announced that they do not need any military assistant from any country but what they need at least is political support.
As for Syria-Saudi Arabia-Egypt axis, President Al-Assad pointed out that there are contacts on bilateral levels but last summit of the three countries was in Sharmu-Sheikh last may but consultations are going on with Egypt and Saudi Arabia and other countries as well.
As regard the development of the private sector in Syria the president indicated that the private sector will be improved through the lawa that encourage investment and activate the economic activities and Syria is preparing a new tax law whereby many problems that hinder investment in Syria will be solved.
In addition. Hussein's first wife, mother of his sons, has fled to Syria along with other families of top officials. see here -
[url=http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=31753]http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article....RTICLE_ID=31753[/url]
2003-03-28 20:54 | User Profile
Can U say WWIII? Can U dig it? Itz Here.
[SIZE=3]Rumsfeld Warns Syria: Stop Assisting Iraq [/SIZE]
Friday, March 28, 2003
[url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,82377,00.html]http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,82377,00.html[/url]
also: [url=http://forum.originaldissent.com/index.php?act=ST&f=5&t=6964&st=0&#entry35036]http://forum.originaldissent.com/index.php...t=0&#entry35036[/url]
WASHINGTON ââ¬â Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld warned Syria on Friday to stop supplying Iraq with weapons to use against coalition forces.
Fox News reported Thursday that Defense officials said they were seeing "military equipment" ââ¬â "night-vision goggles and other things" ââ¬â moving from Syria to Iraq, but would not elaborate on the size of the shipments or if they were affecting the military situation.
Rumsfeld affirmed Friday that Syria was in fact engaging in such activities, and sent out a stern warning.
"These deliveries pose a direct threat to the lives of coalition forces," Rumsfeld said at a Pentagon briefing. "We consider such trafficking as hostile acts, and will hold the Syrian government responsible for the incidents."
When asked if the shipments from Syria were "state-sponsored," Rumsfeld said he wouldn't answer because "it's an intelligence issue."
"They control their border," he added. "We're hoping that kind of thing doesn't happen."
Syria has effectively opened its borders for volunteers trying to get into Iraq to fight for Saddam Hussein's regime, as well as refugees trying to escape, U.S. government officials confirmed to Fox News Friday.
"There's no question but that to the extent that military supplies or equipment or people are moving across the borders between Iraq and Syria, it vastly complicates our situation," Rumsfeld said.
Asked if the United States was threatening military action against Syria, Rumsfeld said: "I'm saying exactly what I'm saying. It was carefully phrased."
By contrast, officials say the Turkish, Iranian, Jordanian and Saudi Arabian borders were closed and more carefully watched.
Officials said the U.S. government's concerns have been communicated to the Syrian government, though exactly how was unclear.
The United States has said Russia has also provided Iraq with night-vision goggles, as well as electronic jamming equipment that could alter the path of U.S. bombs and aircraft.
Leaders of the Palestinian Islamic fundamentalist terrorist group Hamas have distrubuted pamphlets in the West Bank demanding that two of Iraq's neighbors ââ¬â Jordan and Saudi Arabia ââ¬â open their borders so that volunteers can head to Baghdad.
Sources say Hezbollah fighters from Lebanon were also en route to Iraq.
Saddam's regime has long rewarded the families of Palestinian homicide bombers with money.
U.S. control of western Iraq was expected to neutralize the threat, if any, these volunteers might present to coalition efforts.
During a U.S. Central Command briefing Friday, Brig. Gen. Vince Brooks was asked what reports of returning Iraqi expatriates meant for the war effort.
"We've seen this kind of example before," Brooks said, referring to Afghanistan. "Some are very interested in deliberation that's ongoing ... we have not had any encounters and it has not posed a problem to date."
During diplomatic wrangling within the U.N. Security Council in the past few months, Syria staunchly opposed any sort of military action in Iraq.
Syria "has been the major conduit for illegal military equipment" into Iraq, Fox News foreign affairs analyst Marc Ginsberg said Thursday.
Ginsberg, a former U.N. ambassador to Morocco, said Syria had been making money off the oil it allows Iraq to illegally sell on the black market.
To figure out exactly who has been supplying Iraq with military equipment, U.S. officials were investigating arms dealers, transactions and bank accounts in several countries, including Yemen, Syria, Russia, Turkey, Jordan, Romania, Yugoslavia, Poland, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ukraine and Belarus. (Are not some countries listed here among the "coalition of the willing"? Mmm, we'll have to bomb them now too?)
On Thursday, Mufti of Syria Sheikh Ahmad Kaftaro, the country's top official Muslim religious authority and a man generally regarded as a moderate, urged homicide bombings against coalition forces in Iraq, reported Agence France Presse.
"I call on Muslims everywhere to use all means possible to thwart the aggression, including martyr operations against the belligerent American, British and [color=blue]Zionist [/color]invaders," Kaftaro said in a statement. "Resistance to the belligerent invaders is an obligation for all Muslims, starting with [those in] Iraq."
U.S. officials were particularly concerned about the increasingly anti-American and anti-British tone in the Syrian government-controlled press.
Officials from the Syrian Foreign Ministry are quoted in newspapers this week as calling the United States the "the empire of murder and destruction."
Syria has long regarded homicide attacks by Palestinians against Israel as legitimate "resistance to occupation."
Kaftaro, the leader of the Naqshbandi Sufi sect, called on Muslims everywhere to boycott U.S. and British products, as well as goods from countries supporting the coalition war effort.
He also urged "free citizens" all over the world to demonstrate, strike and disrupt airports and ports and other facilities that support the war effort in Iraq.
Separately, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, in an interview published Thursday in the Lebanese daily As-Safir, predicted the United States and Britain would never be able to bring Iraq under their full control and would face "popular Arab resistance."
The Washington Post on Thursday reported that some citizens in Saudi Arabia, Syria and Lebanon said they wanted to take up arms for Saddam.
Even Arab newspapers that before the war never dared to mention the Iraqi dictator's name now appeared to be praising his ability to fight back against coalition forces.
"Six days have passed and not one Iraqi city has fallen to the invaders," wrote Mahmoud Abdel Moneim, a columnist for the al-Ahram daily newspaper in Cairo, Egypt. "Saddam Hussein hasn't fled, and he hasn't given in. The whole world mocks the allies and their weapons and their numbers, which are incapable of achieving any victory over Iraqi forces who are supported by no one."
A commentary in the Tishrin daily in Syria on Thursday indicated that ââ¬â in the words of a writer for the Syrian Web site ââ¬â "there is a complete conviction in the world that what is going in Iraq is more than an ordinary aggression and the American strategy in targeting the Iraqi people, land and resources."
The newspaper stressed that the "U.S. war machine doesn't hesitate to target the Iraqi civilians with round-the-clock missiles and bombs in the most brutal raids ever in history, particularly on Baghdad."
The Al-Thawra daily opined that the Iraqi people had proven their strength, and the al-Baath daily said the popular resistance of the Iraqi people would be an important factor in the Arab world.
2003-03-28 21:06 | User Profile
It's just too rich coming from a cabinet member:
"They control their border," he added.
Now depending on how you look at it that comment could either be comic or tragic. It definitely is hypocritical - demanding of other nation-states what we can't or won't do ourselves with Mexico.
Oh, but I forget. We're off in every other God-forsaken hellhole on this green earth patrolling and enforcing other states' borders. The few federal government employees left here stateside are busy rounding up Ranch Rescue members.
Insanity.