Post by Moses on Jun 10, 2005 6:35:34 GMT -5
Syria has hit list. And he calls his buddy Mr. Bumiller to trumpet this "information" in the New York Times:
June 10, 2005
U.S. Has 'Credible' Word of Syrian Plot to Kill Lebanese
By STEVEN R. WEISMAN
WASHINGTON, June 9 - The United States has received "credible information" that Syrian operatives in Lebanon plan to try to assassinate senior Lebanese political leaders and that Syrian military intelligence forces are returning to Lebanon to create "an environment of intimidation," a senior administration official said Thursday.
The official said that the information had come from "a variety of Lebanese sources" and that "we assess it as credible." The information, he said, was gathered after the recent assassinations of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in February, and of Samir Kassir, a well-known journalist, a week ago.
Both were outspoken critics of Syrian domination of Lebanese politics, and Mr. Kassir had blamed Syria for the assassination of Mr. Hariri.
"This is a moment when many politicians are facing overt Syrian intimidation in the middle of the election period," said the official, referring to parliamentary elections held last month and again this month. "When Lebanese sources tell us that they are hearing that the Kassir killing will be followed by others, we take it seriously."
The administration official volunteered the information about what he said was a "Syrian hit list" on the condition that he not be identified by name or agency. A spokesman for the official, asked why the official would not make the assertions more openly, said it was because of the diplomatic sensitivities involved as well as the usual reluctance to discuss intelligence matters openly. [But they ARE not only talking about it, but inserting them into the media]
It was clear that the official's statements, which were offered to reporters from at least two news organizations, were a deliberate signal of the Bush administration's continuing displeasure with the Syrian government's role in Lebanon.
He said that information about the threat had been disseminated to governments in the Middle East and Europe and that "we thought it would be useful to make this public as a deterrent to the Syrians."
But intelligence officials said they could not immediately substantiate the reliability of the information cited by the administration official. A State Department official said that word of a "hit list" had been "circulating among the Lebanese" but that no one in the administration had actually seen such a list and that its existence could not be independently verified.
Since the Hariri assassination, which was widely viewed as carried out by Syria or its supporters, politicians opposed to Syria's military presence over many decades and its influence generally have been on edge.
Gen. Michel Aoun, a [Maronite] Christian leader who recently arrived in Lebanon after 15 years in exile, has been giving speeches from behind a bullet proof shield. In addition, some friends of Mr. Kassir said that they believed Syria and its supporters had developed a "hit list" of others to kill.
Syria had stationed troops in Lebanon since its civil war began in the 1970's, ostensibly to stabilize the country but more recently to maintain its dominance of Lebanese politics.
After the Hariri assassination, Syria came under renewed pressure to remove the 14,000 troops stationed in Lebanon at the time, and it has said that it completed the job. But a "verification team" sent by the United Nations Security Council, which demanded the troops' removal, was never able to confirm that military intelligence operatives had left.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, in an interview on Thursday with [elite neocon propagandist]Charlie Rose for the Public Broadcasting System, said that "military forces are out" of Syria [And apparently the militias are back in! ] but that "some of us have our doubts" about intelligence forces "and we need to keep pressure on the Syrians to be transparent about what they're doing in Lebanon."
Secretary General Kofi Annan announced recently that he was sending his special envoy on Lebanon, Terje Roed-Larsen, back to Syria and Lebanon next week. Mr. Annan told reporters today that the United Nations was also receiving reports that "there may be elements" of Syrian forces still there.
The senior administration official said that Syrian military intelligence forces in Lebanon had declined in numbers earlier this year but recently had begun to return.
Of the assassination threat faced by the Lebanese, the official said: "We're not going to ignore it. We're going to pay a lot of attention." But he declined to specify what sort of actions might be taken.
In another step aimed at Syria, the United States on Thursday designated a Syrian company and two senior officials as having acted on behalf of Saddam Hussein's government in Iraq. The designation meant that the United States could freeze assets or property of these officials, the Treasury Department said.
The Treasury announcement was the latest of a series of steps taken or announced since late last year, when pressure on Syria ratcheted up in the West after a United Nations Security Council resolution supported by France and the United States demanded that Syria end its dominance of its neighboring country.
In recent weeks, the United States said that Syria had ceased cooperating on terrorism issues and had begun arresting political dissidents.
Some administration officials have described the American strategy as one of capitalizing on the outrage in Lebanon and elsewhere in the Middle East over the Hariri assassination and the Syrian dominance of Lebanon generally to build up antipathy throughout the region toward President Bashar al-Assad and his Baathist government.
Mr. Assad has responded by declaring that the Baath Party will carry out reforms, but American officials hope that pressure on a number of fronts could lead to a change in behavior or even an overthrow of the government.
Ms. Rice, in the interview with Charlie Rose, called again for Syria, Iran and other countries to stop supporting "rejectionist" militant groups that are trying to disrupt Israeli-Palestinian negotiations in the hope of eradicating Israel altogether. The Israeli-Palestinian talks are at a delicate phase, and American officials are worried that Syria could play a role in disrupting the planned Israeli withdrawal of forces and settlers from Gaza, where Hamas is popular.
"The headquarters and a lot of other facilities of Hamas and other groups remain in Syria, and these groups are still directed essentially from Damascus," said the administration official. "Syria is still the nub of a lot of problems."
June 10, 2005
U.S. Has 'Credible' Word of Syrian Plot to Kill Lebanese
By STEVEN R. WEISMAN
WASHINGTON, June 9 - The United States has received "credible information" that Syrian operatives in Lebanon plan to try to assassinate senior Lebanese political leaders and that Syrian military intelligence forces are returning to Lebanon to create "an environment of intimidation," a senior administration official said Thursday.
The official said that the information had come from "a variety of Lebanese sources" and that "we assess it as credible." The information, he said, was gathered after the recent assassinations of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in February, and of Samir Kassir, a well-known journalist, a week ago.
Both were outspoken critics of Syrian domination of Lebanese politics, and Mr. Kassir had blamed Syria for the assassination of Mr. Hariri.
"This is a moment when many politicians are facing overt Syrian intimidation in the middle of the election period," said the official, referring to parliamentary elections held last month and again this month. "When Lebanese sources tell us that they are hearing that the Kassir killing will be followed by others, we take it seriously."
The administration official volunteered the information about what he said was a "Syrian hit list" on the condition that he not be identified by name or agency. A spokesman for the official, asked why the official would not make the assertions more openly, said it was because of the diplomatic sensitivities involved as well as the usual reluctance to discuss intelligence matters openly. [But they ARE not only talking about it, but inserting them into the media]
It was clear that the official's statements, which were offered to reporters from at least two news organizations, were a deliberate signal of the Bush administration's continuing displeasure with the Syrian government's role in Lebanon.
He said that information about the threat had been disseminated to governments in the Middle East and Europe and that "we thought it would be useful to make this public as a deterrent to the Syrians."
But intelligence officials said they could not immediately substantiate the reliability of the information cited by the administration official. A State Department official said that word of a "hit list" had been "circulating among the Lebanese" but that no one in the administration had actually seen such a list and that its existence could not be independently verified.
Since the Hariri assassination, which was widely viewed as carried out by Syria or its supporters, politicians opposed to Syria's military presence over many decades and its influence generally have been on edge.
Gen. Michel Aoun, a [Maronite] Christian leader who recently arrived in Lebanon after 15 years in exile, has been giving speeches from behind a bullet proof shield. In addition, some friends of Mr. Kassir said that they believed Syria and its supporters had developed a "hit list" of others to kill.
Syria had stationed troops in Lebanon since its civil war began in the 1970's, ostensibly to stabilize the country but more recently to maintain its dominance of Lebanese politics.
After the Hariri assassination, Syria came under renewed pressure to remove the 14,000 troops stationed in Lebanon at the time, and it has said that it completed the job. But a "verification team" sent by the United Nations Security Council, which demanded the troops' removal, was never able to confirm that military intelligence operatives had left.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, in an interview on Thursday with [elite neocon propagandist]Charlie Rose for the Public Broadcasting System, said that "military forces are out" of Syria [And apparently the militias are back in! ] but that "some of us have our doubts" about intelligence forces "and we need to keep pressure on the Syrians to be transparent about what they're doing in Lebanon."
Secretary General Kofi Annan announced recently that he was sending his special envoy on Lebanon, Terje Roed-Larsen, back to Syria and Lebanon next week. Mr. Annan told reporters today that the United Nations was also receiving reports that "there may be elements" of Syrian forces still there.
The senior administration official said that Syrian military intelligence forces in Lebanon had declined in numbers earlier this year but recently had begun to return.
Of the assassination threat faced by the Lebanese, the official said: "We're not going to ignore it. We're going to pay a lot of attention." But he declined to specify what sort of actions might be taken.
In another step aimed at Syria, the United States on Thursday designated a Syrian company and two senior officials as having acted on behalf of Saddam Hussein's government in Iraq. The designation meant that the United States could freeze assets or property of these officials, the Treasury Department said.
The Treasury announcement was the latest of a series of steps taken or announced since late last year, when pressure on Syria ratcheted up in the West after a United Nations Security Council resolution supported by France and the United States demanded that Syria end its dominance of its neighboring country.
In recent weeks, the United States said that Syria had ceased cooperating on terrorism issues and had begun arresting political dissidents.
Some administration officials have described the American strategy as one of capitalizing on the outrage in Lebanon and elsewhere in the Middle East over the Hariri assassination and the Syrian dominance of Lebanon generally to build up antipathy throughout the region toward President Bashar al-Assad and his Baathist government.
Mr. Assad has responded by declaring that the Baath Party will carry out reforms, but American officials hope that pressure on a number of fronts could lead to a change in behavior or even an overthrow of the government.
Ms. Rice, in the interview with Charlie Rose, called again for Syria, Iran and other countries to stop supporting "rejectionist" militant groups that are trying to disrupt Israeli-Palestinian negotiations in the hope of eradicating Israel altogether. The Israeli-Palestinian talks are at a delicate phase, and American officials are worried that Syria could play a role in disrupting the planned Israeli withdrawal of forces and settlers from Gaza, where Hamas is popular.
"The headquarters and a lot of other facilities of Hamas and other groups remain in Syria, and these groups are still directed essentially from Damascus," said the administration official. "Syria is still the nub of a lot of problems."
