Reform party of Syria
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Beirut objects to U.S. plan to freeze assets
U.S. says Full Support in Security Council urging Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon is Possible
Bush Considering Tougher Syria Sanctions-Officials
Syria and Iran Threaten Iraqi Democracy
Shells from Syria fired at U.S. troops in Iraq
Consequences for Syria
Saddam aide in exile heads list of most wanted rebels
Washington DC, October 17, 2004 /The Guardian - Peter Beaumont/ - A senior Baath party organiser and Saddam Hussein aide, Mohammed Younis al-Ahmed, has been named by western intelligence officials as one of the key figures directing the Sunni insurgency from his hiding-place in neighbouring Syria.
Sources have told The Observer that Younis al-Ahmed - who has had a $1 million price tag placed on his head by the US - is one of between 20 and 50 senior Baath party figures based in Syria who, they believe, are involved in organising the guerrilla war against the US-led multi-national forces in Iraq and against the new Iraqi security forces.
The naming of Ahmed comes amid growing concern that hardline factions in Syria are providing protection for cells still loyal to the old Iraqi regime who were involved in organising the flow of money, people and material for fighters in Baghdad and the Sunni triangle. This is despite Syrian moves to tighten up its border with Iraq after complaints from Washington and London that arms and foreign terrorists were crossing into Iraq.
The intelligence officials believe the activities of the Syrian-based former regime members - who quickly formed into cells after the fall of Saddam - may be a considerably more significant threat to the interim government of Ayad Allawi than the more widely visible activities of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who has been behind a series of beheadings and suicide bombings.
Before the $1m bounty was placed on his head, Ahmed, also known as 'Khadr al-Sabahi', had been travelling between Syria and the Sunni triangle to direct fighting and disburse funds. More recently, however, say sources, he has remained in Syria, choosing not to risk capture by crossing the border.
Washington DC, October 16, 2004/Reuters Feed/ -- Lebanon protested to the United States on Saturday over a proposal to freeze the assets of senior officials to put pressure on Syria to withdraw its troops from Lebanon and crack down on terrorism.
A government statement said Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri summoned U.S. ambassador Jeffrey Feltman to express his objections to the proposal.
U.S. officials said on Friday the Bush administration was considering tightening U.S. economic sanctions against Syria to put pressure on Damascus to pull its forces out of Lebanon, where it has an estimated 14,000 to 17,000 troops.
Congressional sources briefed by the administration said a leading option under consideration was freezing the assets of high-ranking government officials, including Lebanese officials.
Hariri's office said in a statement: "Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri summoned U.S. ambassador Jeffrey Feltman today to express concern and opposition to...a request by members of Congress to U.S. President George Bush to freeze assets of Lebanese and Syrian officials to pressure Lebanon and Syria."
It quoted Feltman as saying the proposal was not yet law, but reflected "the very strong concern within the U.S. Congress about supporting the sovereignty and independence of Lebanon".
In May, Bush imposed a series of sanctions on Syria, including a ban on U.S. exports other than food and medicine.
Some U.S. lawmakers said Bush did not go far enough. They pointed to a report earlier this month by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who said Syria had failed to meet a Security Council demand it withdraw its forces from Lebanon.
Republican Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida, who chairs the House of Representatives International Relations Subcommittee on Middle East affairs, wrote to Bush urging him to freeze the assets of those who contributed to Syria's military presence in Lebanon, where Damascus has had ultimate authority since the 1975-1990 civil war.
In a letter dated Oct. 8 also signed by Democratic Representative Eliot Engel, Ros-Lehtinen wrote that, under the Syria Accountability Act, Bush "may freeze the assets of any individual who is found to be contributing to Syria's occupation of Lebanon or support of terrorism".
The letter added: "We write to you today to ask you to exercise this power. Specifically, we ask you to implement this provision against individuals in the Lebanese government, who have flagrantly and unabashedly cooperated with the Syrian regime in maintaining its control over Lebanon."
The U.S. moves, and a U.S.-backed U.N. Security Council resolution demanding foreign troops leave Lebanon, marked an increase in pressure on Damascus, accused by Washington of supporting Hizbollah guerrillas and failing to stop anti-U.S. guerrillas from entering Iraq.
Washington DC, October 13, 2004/AP Feed/ -- The United States held out hope it can persuade all Security Council members to support a statement urging Syria to withdraw its remaining 14,000 troops from Lebanon and calling for regular reports from Secretary-General Kofi Annan on the country's progress.
But Syria's U.N. Ambassador Fayssal Mekdad called on the council to drop its pursuit of a new statement or resolution, saying the U.S. and French push for fresh action was an "abuse of the council."
Syrian troops have been in Lebanon for 28 years and Damascus is seen as pulling the strings in Lebanese politics -- most recently in pushing through a constitutional amendment so Lebanon's pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud could keep his job.
France and the United States introduced a resolution aimed at preventing the constitutional amendment and calling on Syria to pull out all troops from its smaller neighbor. A deeply divided council adopted the resolution on Sept. 2 with the minimum nine "yes" votes, but hours later Lebanon's parliament amended the constitution and Lahoud remains president.
Secretary-General Kofi Annan reported on Oct. 1 that Syria had not withdrawn its forces, and that Lebanon had failed to disband and disarm all Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias, as also demanded by the council.
The United States and France responded by introducing a presidential statement last week calling for implementation of the Sept. 2 resolution and regular reports from Annan. But they ran into opposition from council members including Algeria and Pakistan.
Since presidential statements need approval from all 15 council members before they are read in the council chamber, and resolutions need only the nine "yes" votes and no veto by a permanent member, the two countries decided to introduce a resolution Thursday calling for similar actions.
After Friday's meeting to discuss the draft resolution, U.S. deputy ambassador Anne Patterson said "there were a lot of interesting ideas and we have another meeting on Monday afternoon."
Asked whether there was a possibility that the council could reach consensus, she said, "I think there's a chance. There's still some distance, but I think there's a chance."
"The resolution is what's on the table," Patterson said, "but if, of course, everyone will agree, you can have a statement instead."
The draft resolution welcomes Annan's report and notes "with concern" his conclusion that the Sept. 2 resolution had not been put into effect.
Without naming Syria or Lebanon, it urges "relevant parties to implement fully all provisions of this resolution, and welcomes the secretary-general's readiness to assist the parties in this regard."
It also asks that Annan provide the council with quarterly reports on the implementation of the resolution.
Syria's Mekdad said Damascus "in principle rejects any period of reporting" and strongly opposes any council action because Syrian forces are in Lebanon under an agreement between the two countries and have brought stability to the country.
Syria sent troops to Lebanon in 1976 to help quell a year-old civil war. They remained through 14 years of fighting and are still in the country.
Washington DC, October 16, 2004 /Reuters Feed/ - The Bush administration is considering tightening U.S. economic sanctions on Syria to put pressure on Damascus to pull its troops out of Lebanon and crack down on terrorism, administration officials said on Friday.
"The application of additional sanctions under the Syrian Accountability Act is an option," a senior Bush administration official said. "No final decision has been made."
The official declined to discuss the timing or scope of the additional sanctions, but congressional aides briefed by the administration said a leading option under consideration was freezing the assets of high-ranking government officials.
In May, President Bush imposed a series of sanctions on Syria, including a ban on U.S. exports other than food and medicine.
He accused Damascus of supporting terrorism, pursuing weapons of mass destruction and failing to stop anti-U.S. guerrillas from entering Iraq.
Some lawmakers said Bush did not go far enough and are pressing him to go a step further. They pointed to a report earlier this month by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who said Syria had failed to meet a Security Council demand it pull its estimated 14,000 to 17,000 troops out of Lebanon.
Lebanon also indicated it would spurn a council call for it to disband militias on its soil, including the Hizbollah guerrilla organization and Palestinian militant groups.
Republican Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida, who chairs the House International Relations Subcommittee on Middle East affairs, sent Bush a letter last week urging him to freeze the assets of those who contribute to Syria's military presence in Lebanon or support terrorism.
The Bush administration is already pursuing action in the United Nations. On Thursday, the United States and France introduced a draft Security Council resolution aimed at putting fresh pressure on Syria over its troops.
The draft would ask Annan to report every three months on the issue as a follow-up to a Sept. 2 council resolution that demanded all foreign troops leave Lebanon.
The Syrian government has maintained political control over Lebanon since it intervened in 1976, at Beirut's request, to quell a civil war.
In May, Bush labeled Syria "an unusual and extraordinary threat" and imposed the ban on exports. He also severed banking relations with the Commercial Bank of Syria, froze assets of Syrians and Syrian entities suspected of involvement terrorism or WMD development, and prohibited Syrian flights to and from the United States. The sanctions were chosen from the Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Restoration Act, which the president signed into law last December.
Iran is Spending $90m a Month on Insurgency in Iraq and Hezbollah Trainers Help Plan Attacks
Washington DC, October 15, 2004 /RPS News/ - In an interview of the Iraqi journalist Mohammed Khalaf on Radio Free Syria, Mr. Khalaf confirmed that democracy in Iraq is contingent upon the taming of Iran and Syria, both destructive forces against a rising Iraqi democracy.
In Iraq, Mr. Khalaf was able to obtain intelligence on the ground that confirmed that Iran and Syria are assisting the insurgents for the sole aim to destroy the country. He confirmed that Iranian fighters captured in Iraq have admitted that the Iranian government is involved in their training and funding. Mr. Khalaf said that Iran is spending up to $90m a month on arming the insurgency in Iraq including Moqtada al-Sadr.
Mr. Khalaf also confirmed that 18 new charitable organizations have been set-up in the last year across Iraq, supported by Iran, that are imitating the same strategy used by of Hezbollah and Hamas; mainly, through funding of poor families and then attracting their youths to the armed struggle. He also confirmed that up to 300 Iranian agents are in Iraq as "reporters" but whose real jobs is to communicate back and forth between the Iranian regime and the charities that are funded by Iran.
Further to that, Mr. Khalaf confirmed that up to 1,870 apartments and homes have been used across Iraq to shelter the insurgents.
On the other hand, Syria's Ba'athists have been playing a logistics role by giving access to Hezbollah military people into Iraq across to communicate with the charities set-up by Iran. These hand-picked individuals are traveling from Lebanon into Iraq to train the insurgents in guerrilla fighting and rocket launching techniques. Furthermore, Syria's Ba'athists are also allowing Palestinian refugees to enter Iraq as fighters. Those fighters captured with Syrian accents come from the Palestinian camps in Syria and Lebanon.
Syria is also facilitating insurgencies from Saudi Arabia, Chechnya, Morocco, and even from Eastern Europe. Mr. Khalaf accused Syria of not only assisting insurgency in Iraq but also of harboring the largest contingency of terrorists and terrorist organizations in the world.
Washington DC, October 14, 2004 /AP Feed/ - American troops stationed along Iraq's border with Syria are coming under increasing mortar attack from shells fired from Syrian territory, but it's unclear who's responsible, U.S. officers said Thursday.
The 82 mm mortar rounds have been fired at U.S. and Iraqi positions in and around Husaybah in the far west of Iraq's Anbar province, said Lt. Col. Chris Woodbridge, commander of the 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment.
"Who exactly is firing these mortars, we do not know. But what we do know is that the point of origin of these rounds is on the Syrian side of the border," said Woodbridge, 39, of Brooklyn.
There has been no evidence linking the Syrian military to the attacks, he said. However, the Syrian military has the capability to determine who is launching the mortars and act against them, Woodbridge said.
"Syrian authorities should be the ones to go after them, no question about it," he said.
The mortar attacks come at a time of increased U.S. pressure on Syria to stem cross-border infiltration and movement of militants into Iraq.
The number of cross-border mortar attacks has increased in recent weeks with the latest coming Tuesday night, Woodbridge said. In one night alone, five mortar rounds landed near U.S. troops in Husaybah, he said.
The mortar rounds have largely missed their target and there have been no U.S. casualties, U.S. officers said.
A high-level U.S. delegation visited Syria last month to ask the government to institute tighter controls on its side of the border and to stop militants and their money from entering Iraq.
Following those talks, U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld called the Syrians "unhelpful" and accused them of "facilitating terrorists moving back and forth, money moving back and forth" to Iraq. Rumsfeld made the remarks during a speech at Council on Foreign Relations in New York.
While Syria has posted hundreds of extra troops along the frontier, its officials have said it is impossible to seal off such a large area.
Woodbridge maintains that the official Syrian presence at the border is scarce, consisting of a few patrols at the border crossing.
The U.S. Marines, who patrol a 250-mile stretch of mostly desert terrain between the two countries, say the Syrians have not been helpful in securing their side of the border.
"They should be more active in patrolling their side of the border, in searching vehicles, in detaining suspicious characters," Woodbridge said.
Washington DC, October 12, 2004 /Washington Post Editorial/ --In the past month, heat from the outside world has been slowly rising on the world's remaining Arab Baathist dictatorship -- Syria -- and the result has been a noticeable if somewhat inconclusive bubbling of developments in normally somnolent Damascus. Syria's government has been a longtime sponsor of terrorism, a stockpiler of missiles and chemical weapons, and an unapologetic ally of Islamic extremists; it has allowed hundreds, if not thousands, of insurgents to stream across its borders to fight U.S. forces in Iraq. Until recently it had suffered few consequences, other than economic sanctions that were mandated by Congress. That has begun to change.
In August, Syria's callow and ineffectual president, Bashar Assad, managed to provoke not just the United States but France by forcing neighboring Lebanon to extend the term of its pro-Syrian president. The result was a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon. Nine days later, a U.S. delegation arrived in Damascus to insist that Syria cooperate with U.S. and Iraqi efforts to control movement across its border. Two weeks later a car bomb, almost certainly planted by Israel, exploded in Damascus and killed one of the Hamas leaders who had been given harbor there. Though it is rare for Israel to carry out such an audacious operation in the Syrian capital, Mr. Assad won scant international sympathy. Instead, U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan reported to the Security Council that Syria had not met the terms of Resolution 1559, despite its claims to have redeployed 3,000 of its 20,000 troops in Lebanon.
Mr. Assad seems to be getting nervous. Last week he reorganized his government, installing the former top Syrian intelligence general in Lebanon as interior minister. Then he delivered a whining speech warning that chaos would overtake Lebanon if Syrian troops withdrew. Behind the rhetoric, Syrian security forces are trying to appease Washington, promising better controls on the border and acting against some of the organizers of Iraqi resistance operating in Lebanon.
This, of course, is not enough: It merely demonstrates that concerted outside pressure can bring about changes in Syrian behavior. That pressure should be stepped up. The Security Council should renew its demand that Syria withdraw from Lebanon, and accompany it with the threat of sanctions. Arab states, which for decades have insisted on the sanctity of U.N. resolutions about Israel, should be pressed to take a public position on this one. The Bush administration and Iraqi leaders should make it clear that continued infiltration of insurgents and terrorists into Iraq will be considered a hostile act by Syria and subject to the responses usually given an enemy, from the breaking off of relations to -- in the last resort -- military retaliation. There are no reasons for continued toleration of Syria's rogue behavior; instead, there is an opportunity for insisting on change in the Arab state where it is most needed.
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