Today the US pulled all US citizens out of Syria and closed the Embassy.
quote:
By Adam Entous and Arshad Mohammed
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush recalled the U.S. ambassador in Syria for urgent consultations following the killing of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri in Beirut, U.S. officials said on Tuesday.
The move is a sign of U.S. displeasure over Syria's military presence in Lebanon, which the White House cited on Monday in condemning the assassination of Hariri.
Bush has been steadily stepping up diplomatic pressure on Damascus for months and is considering imposing new sanctions.
State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said Bush summoned Ambassador Margaret Scobey back to the United States for "urgent consultations."
The White House has been consulting with the U.N. Security Council about taking punitive measures against those responsible for the killing in Beirut.
"It's too early to know who was responsible for this attack," White House spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters.
But he said: "Syria's presence in Lebanon is a destabilizing force. The terrorist attack further underscores the importance of letting the Lebanese people control their future."
Washington has been warning Syria for months that it may face new sanctions for allegedly supporting Palestinian militants and allowing money and arms to flow to insurgents in Iraq.
Last week the State Department called in Syria's ambassador, a sign a decision may be near.
"We are constantly reviewing all our diplomatic options across the board, including further sanctions under Syria Accountability Act," a senior administration official said.
The United States and France had engineered a U.N. resolution in September telling Syria to withdraw its troops from Lebanon and refrain from intervening in Lebanese affairs. They sought unsuccessfully to head off a constitutional amendment that extended the term of the Syrian-backed president of Lebanon, Gen. Emile Lahoud, by three years.
But the resolution barely squeaked through the council, leaving follow-up action in doubt.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has ordered US Ambassador Margaret Scobey home from Syria amid rising tensions over the assassination of Lebanese former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in Beirut, a US official said Tuesday.
Before departing, Scobey delivered a stiff note, called a demarche in diplomatic parlance, to the Syrian government, said the official.
The United States called the attack "a terrible reminder" that Lebanon must still shake free of Syrian occupation. Syria keeps 15,000 troops here and influences virtually all key political decisions.
Meanwhile, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said on Tuesday that there was no immediate need to change EU relations with Syria.
sowhatsthetruth said this in post #2 : Yeah, looks like you may have to open a "Syria" forum in the Post 9-11 board.
I believe before Iran, and NK....Syria will be next on the docket.
USA1 said this in post #5 : I think it has been the plan all along. You just forgot about it.
Whose plan?
Are you talking about Bush's axis of evil?
And then now suddenly out of the blue a big bomb goes off in Lebanon...pointing to Syrian terrorists ...and they're the next target...? how convenient.
Now maybe the Golan Heights will be off the table when they try and parse out Israel to be next to nothing.
sowhatsthetruth said this in post #3 : United States recalls ambassador to Syria
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has ordered US Ambassador Margaret Scobey home from Syria amid rising tensions over the assassination of Lebanese former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in Beirut, a US official said Tuesday.
Before departing, Scobey delivered a stiff note, called a demarche in diplomatic parlance, to the Syrian government, said the official.
The United States called the attack "a terrible reminder" that Lebanon must still shake free of Syrian occupation. Syria keeps 15,000 troops here and influences virtually all key political decisions.
Bush is a funny guy. While his governments goes to war with whoever he chooses, ending up occupying Iraq and while his government supports the occupation of Palastinian lands that's lasted decades, he has the gal to start banging on about Syrian occupation of Lebanon.
Same old story - while Bush pushes for new weapons systems, star wars and mini nukes he's pointing his finger and demanding Iran ends their nuclear power program.
I did chuckle when Bush tried to finger Syria again for not abiding by their UN resolutions.
Any chance that the guy can just shut his mouth for a change because the hypocrisy is becoming intolerable.
Remember at the beginning of the war, we all talked about which country was next? Syria sticks out as the next country to worry about.
This is not anything new. Syria has been harboring terrorists and funding them long before W took office. Bush is not Clinton and I am glad for that.
You don't hear much fromthe Syrian people about their leaders ability. I wonder if he is as ruthless as Saddam was. Something tells me he is.
Iran is scared to death of another war. That's why all the sabre rattling coming from Tehran. They cannot afford to go to war. If they do they will lose all their power to the conservatives that are growing in number there and lose their Islamic run strangle hold of the country.
"Those who know nothing of Islam pretend that Islam counsels against war. Those who say this are witless." ~Ayatollah Khomeini
02-15-2005 06:14 PM
