Rebels Aided By Sources In Syria, US Says

[Syrinx]

U.S. military intelligence officials have concluded that the Iraqi insurgency is being directed to a greater degree than previously recognized from Syria, where they said former Saddam Hussein loyalists have found sanctuary and are channeling money and other support to those fighting the established government.

Based on information gathered during the recent fighting in Fallujah, Baghdad and elsewhere in the Sunni Triangle, the officials said that a handful of senior Iraqi Baathists operating in Syria are collecting money from private sources in Saudi Arabia and Europe and turning it over to the insurgency.

In some cases, evidence suggests that these Baathists are managing operations in Iraq from a distance, the officials said. A U.S. military summary of operations in Fallujah noted recently that troops discovered a global positioning signal receiver in a bomb factory in the western part of the city that "contained waypoints originating in western Syria."

Concerns about Syria's role in Iraq were also expressed in interviews The Washington Post conducted yesterday with Jordan's King Abdullah and Iraqi President Ghazi Yawar. "There are people in Syria who are bad guys, who are fugitives of the law and who are Saddam remnants who are trying to bring the vicious dictatorship of Saddam back," Yawar said. "They are not minding their business or living a private life. They are . . . disturbing or undermining our political process."

Abdullah noted that the governments of both the United States and Iraq believe that "foreign fighters are coming across the Syrian border that have been trained in Syria."

*snip*

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A45326-2004Dec7?language=printer

[bluestateguy]

1. Just in case war with Iran is not workable

there's always that other Baath country.

[NuttyFluffers]

12. iran, syria, syria, iran...

when will they make up their mind and shoot the other foot? wait, how many feet do we have left?

[hatrack]

22. Exactly! Just pick one and invade!

Unless of course Donald "The Unarmored Desert Fox" has a double-secret probation plan to invade both at once.

[Newsjock]

2. Up to #3 this week, with a bullet!

That Syria was sinking down the charts, but she's back this week with a re-recording of her 2003 smash hit single, and she's heading for the top!

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

3. Oh what the fuck. Let's start WWIII.

It'll hasten the apocalypse

[dethl]

5. I'd rather hope for the rapture

[NuttyFluffers]

13. i'd rather not the rapture,

i want to see all the disappointment on the death cultists' faces.

[Gloria]

4. AndAbdullah also says Iranians are meddling....looks like we're getting

the next two wars all lined up.....

[The Zanti Regent]

6. Can't they make up their mind?

Gee, this week it's Syria, last week it was Iran.

C'mon assholes, make up your minds!

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

7. Meanwhile North Korea builds more nukes

And the asswipe in the White House wants to move troops from the Korean peninsula.

[Nihil]

10. That's a silver lining for Bush

With NK having nukes, there is no point in keeping all those troops
tied up in South Korea - they can't do anything there anyway.
Might as well move them over to the Middle East and invade a non-nuclear
country.

[Just Me]

26. Yep. Non-nuclear, oil-rich countries are the priority,...

,...via the "neoCONs" Pax Americana.

[fshrink]

8. Syria has been on top of the de-stabilization list

at least since 2003. Sharon's Israel attempted a few tricks back then, which did not work as expected, because Assad is smarter than Saddam. However, Syria is the target of choice when you want to spread the mess, which is the only strategy pursued by the US since the very beginning. That's the main difference between the Bush the First's and the idiot's ME strategy. The latter is dictated by the neo-nazis of the PNAC, while the former was following the classic oil/politics standards.
Iran is tactically much more difficult to access and militarily much more dangerous. You can expect a series of provocations, probably engineered by the Mossad, and Lebanon, which has been very quiet for awhile, to come back up in the headlines. If this happens, this will be a sure sign that the bushage is marching forward, so to speak.
Unless, hopefully, American democracy annuls the last presidential election.

[livinbella]

9. i think bush really has his heart set on Iran, as well

if he has to nuke them so be it.

[neweurope]

15. They already said they wouldn't fight on the ground in Iran.

It was Powell who said that I seem to remember.

[Just Me]

28. They are advocating pre-emptively striking nuclear plants,...

,...but, naturally, that would pretty much guarantee the next world war they seek to incite and it would prove a blatant scheme to the rest of the planet that these imperialists are destructively ambitious.

I'll bet neo-fascists are disappointed (or completely surprised) that their actions haven't already incited that great, big war over resources yet.

They had better be a great deal less confident, rather than emboldened 'cause,...instead of being reactive,...the rest of the world is likely being wisely proactive in its planning to control this monster of the 21st C.

[Justitia]

11. Well, we knew it was coming...axis of evil and all....

I just didn't know who would be first, sounds like the evil cabal hasn't completely decided which horse to ride into the apocalypse yet.

Iran or Syria?
Syria or Iran?

Eeensie, meensie, miney, moe!

[neweurope]

16. Four horses in the apocalypse..

Iraq, Iran, Syria and?

[Just Me]

27. Afghanistan,...

I never thought of the four horses thingy.

However, the PNAC has more than four on their list of countries to control.

[leftchick]

14. Iran, Syira, Syria, Iran... They always forget the...

Pakistani and Saudi help for some reason. :eyes:

[wordout]

17. Syria is next NOT Iran!

Winning Modern Wars, page 130:

"As I went back through the Pentagon in November 2001, one of the senior military staff officers had time for a chat. Yes, we were still on track for going against Iraq, he said. But there was more. This was being discussed as part of a five-year campaign plan, he said, and there were a total of seven countries, beginning with Iraq, then Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Iran, Somalia, and Sudan." Clark adds, "I left the Pentagon that afternoon deeply concerned."


>beginning with Iraq, then Syria
>beginning with Iraq, then Syria
>beginning with Iraq, then Syria
>beginning with Iraq, then Syria


Remember when Rove said "No war in 04"? That meant "Syria in 05!"


-------KNOW YOUR ENEMY!-----------

[HockeyMom]

18. Liberation?

So many countries to "free", so little time (and money and troops). LOL

[PurityOfEssence]

19. Syriasly, folks: it's time for a Bloodbaath

We were all ready to trump up charges and attack Syria in April of '03, it's just that we couldn't keep a lid on those damned idiot rakis who wouldn't throw us those flowers. The PNAC is more concerned with Israel than anything else, and Syria is an old scourge. Sitting where it does, it allows us to use the IDF to help us through our manpower problems, too.

I don't know if they can pull it off, though; reality reaches even these clowns at some point.

Don't be surprised if, after the "elections", charges are cobbled together to "justify" another "liberation".

Syria is also ruled by the Ba'ath Party, lest we forget...

[Moloch]

20. I don't think the public will stand for this....

Iraq has gone from bad to worse and I don't think shrub could muster the support for another war (outside of the neocons and likud).

[nolabels]

24. With one or two free billion dollars to propagandize the people...........

they could do anything. And heck look at the payoff, they spend the publics money to lobby themselves into thinking invading Syria would be a good thing, and Poof :nuke:............we are invading Syria

I think it will a fool thing, but that kind of thing has not stopped them yet :crazy:

Here is an old story, notice how it says it would turn Iraq into a quagmire (it's already past that). They can't even do Iraq with it's broke down military. Imagine how it would look with a trained and prepared military that might even have backing from others. This whole story is a show to scare people mostly. They couldn't do it if they wanted

Why Syria is America's new target

Israel's last strategic opponent can turn occupied Iraq into a quagmire

Andrew Green
Thursday April 17, 2003
The Guardian

America's sudden onslaught against Syria has taken the world by surprise. The White House is said to have blocked the Pentagon's preliminary planning for a military assault on the country, and earlier this week the prime minister assured the House of Commons that there were "no plans for an attack on Syria" - language eerily reminiscent of that used about Iraq last autumn. Something must lie behind all this.

The charges are hardly earth-shattering. Syria is accused of harbouring Iraqi fugitives. Possibly so. The Syrians opposed the invasion of Iraq. The Syrian authorities cannot prevent Iraqis getting across a 400-mile desert border. It would not be surprising if, rather than accept the humiliation of handing them over to the Americans, they ushered unexpected guests towards an aeroplane.

Second, the Americans allege that the Syrians have tested chemical weapons. Not a surprise. Several countries in the Middle East are believed to possess such a capability, including Algeria, Egypt, Iran and, notably, Israel. The case for invading Iraq turned on Saddam being a crazy dictator who might pass chemical or biological weapons to terrorists. It would be hard to describe Bashar al-Assad in such terms. If Syria has chemical weapons, it is for a good reason - as a second-strike capability against Israel. It is inconceivable that the Syrians would strike first, knowing the Israelis would immediately go for nuclear retaliation.

The third American allegation is an old chestnut - that Syria is a rogue state supporting terrorism. The Syrians have long given hospitality to the political wing of Palestinian rejectionist movements. They permit the Iranians to channel through Damascus airport the arms required by Hizbullah in south Lebanon. These are regarded as potential levers in negotiations with Israel for return of the occupied Golan Heights. They also give Syria some measure of influence over the Palestinian and Hizbullah resistance. This is tough diplomacy, Middle East style; it hardly amounts to being a rogue state.
(snip)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0%2C3604%2C938326%2C00.html

[quaoar]

21. If our army is to reach Har Megiddo

It will be necessary to cross Syria.

Whatever it takes to bring about the Second Coming.

[leftchick]

23. KICK

:kick:

[abelenkpe]

25. collecting money from Saudi Arabia and europe...

What are we trying to pick a fight with Europe now too?

[Just Me]

29. In an evolving fascist state,...EVERYONE is an enemy,...EXCEPT,...

,...corporations and the free market. Just ask Mussolini *grin*!!!