Post by RPankn on Apr 19, 2004 2:39:11 GMT -5
U.S. General Puts Syria On Notice: Help, Or Risk Stability
April 18 (AP) — Syria needs to do more to stop foreign fighters from crossing into Iraq, the top U.S. military officer said Sunday after a border ambush left five Marines dead.
The U.S. effort to organize an international troop presence in Iraq suffered a setback when the new Spanish prime minister, fulfilling a campaign pledge, said he would withdraw the 1,300-member Spanish contingent in Iraq as soon as possible.
The White House said it expected the move and hoped for Spain's continued help in the fight against terrorism. Lawmakers voiced concern.
"The military situation can accept this, but it will put pressure on the other coalition nations that have joined in this, I'm sure," said Sen. John Warner, R-Va., chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. "It's troublesome."
Military leaders and presidential advisers reaffirmed U.S. policy against negotiating with Iraqi insurgents who are holding Americans and they predicted stepped up attacks as the June 30 deadline for the transfer of power to Iraqis neared.
The battle Saturday on the Syrian-Iraqi border, in an area that had seen little fighting previously, left at least 25 Iraqis dead.
Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the stability not only of Syria and Iraq, but also of the entire region is at stake.
"We know that the pathway into Iraq for many foreign fighters is through Syria. It's a fact. We know it. The Syrians know it," Myers told CNN's "Late Edition."
"The Syrians need to take this situation very seriously. They need to help us stop that infiltration of foreign fighters. It doesn't do their government any good," Myers said.
Syrian officials were not immediately available for comment regarding the U.S. warnings, but have previously rejected claims that Damascus is allowing militants into Iraq.
Syria has said it is responsible for official crossing points between it and Iraq, but has acknowledged that it does not have full control over its long, porous border with Iraq.
In Spain, Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, a socialist whose party scored an upset in elections last month, said he acted after deciding the United Nations was unprepared to take over the occupation of Iraq. That was his condition for keeping troops in the country.
Zapatero swept to victory three days after the Madrid train bombings that killed 191 people. The militants who claimed responsibility for the attacks said they were in retaliation for Spain's role in Iraq.
"We will work with our coalition partners in Iraq and the Spanish government and expect they will implement their decision in a coordinated, responsible and orderly manner," White House spokesman Ken Lisaius said.
Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., suggested that Spain send its troops to Afghanistan.
"If they are not willing to stay in Iraq, they could prove that they're still with us in the war on terrorism by sending those 1,300 Spanish troops to Afghanistan. We need their help there," he said.
By Sunday, the number of Americans killed in combat had reached 99 so far in April - the deadliest month since the invasion of Iraq in March 2003. In April, there have been dozens of kidnappings of foreigners, including two Americans - a civilian and a soldier.
Asked about the possibility of a prisoner swap with insurgents holding the Americans, national security adviser Condoleezza Rice ruled it out.
"The worst thing the United States of America can do is to give an idea to terrorists and to people who want to intimidate that somehow their intimidation techniques are going to be rewarded," she told ABC's "This Week."
U.S. officials in Iraq are doing all they can to free the captives, she said.
Both Myers and Rice attributed the recent surge in violence to the approaching date for the granting of sovereignty to the Iraqi people.
Rice said the violence might continue for some time ahead of the transfer of power, but that the U.S. military presence will remain. "We will continue to work with Iraqis and the coalition partners to make the place secure," she said on CBS' "Face the Nation."
To deal with the insurgents, the Pentagon announced last week that it was extending by three months the tours of some 20,000 American troops in Iraq.
Myers said military officials worried about the affect of the extensions on the troops and their families. He insisted the fighting on the ground left military leaders with only one choice. "This is not a decision that was taken lightly," he said.
Link: abclocal.go.com/kgo/news/041804AP_nw_syria.html
April 18 (AP) — Syria needs to do more to stop foreign fighters from crossing into Iraq, the top U.S. military officer said Sunday after a border ambush left five Marines dead.
The U.S. effort to organize an international troop presence in Iraq suffered a setback when the new Spanish prime minister, fulfilling a campaign pledge, said he would withdraw the 1,300-member Spanish contingent in Iraq as soon as possible.
The White House said it expected the move and hoped for Spain's continued help in the fight against terrorism. Lawmakers voiced concern.
"The military situation can accept this, but it will put pressure on the other coalition nations that have joined in this, I'm sure," said Sen. John Warner, R-Va., chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. "It's troublesome."
Military leaders and presidential advisers reaffirmed U.S. policy against negotiating with Iraqi insurgents who are holding Americans and they predicted stepped up attacks as the June 30 deadline for the transfer of power to Iraqis neared.
The battle Saturday on the Syrian-Iraqi border, in an area that had seen little fighting previously, left at least 25 Iraqis dead.
Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the stability not only of Syria and Iraq, but also of the entire region is at stake.
"We know that the pathway into Iraq for many foreign fighters is through Syria. It's a fact. We know it. The Syrians know it," Myers told CNN's "Late Edition."
"The Syrians need to take this situation very seriously. They need to help us stop that infiltration of foreign fighters. It doesn't do their government any good," Myers said.
Syrian officials were not immediately available for comment regarding the U.S. warnings, but have previously rejected claims that Damascus is allowing militants into Iraq.
Syria has said it is responsible for official crossing points between it and Iraq, but has acknowledged that it does not have full control over its long, porous border with Iraq.
In Spain, Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, a socialist whose party scored an upset in elections last month, said he acted after deciding the United Nations was unprepared to take over the occupation of Iraq. That was his condition for keeping troops in the country.
Zapatero swept to victory three days after the Madrid train bombings that killed 191 people. The militants who claimed responsibility for the attacks said they were in retaliation for Spain's role in Iraq.
"We will work with our coalition partners in Iraq and the Spanish government and expect they will implement their decision in a coordinated, responsible and orderly manner," White House spokesman Ken Lisaius said.
Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., suggested that Spain send its troops to Afghanistan.
"If they are not willing to stay in Iraq, they could prove that they're still with us in the war on terrorism by sending those 1,300 Spanish troops to Afghanistan. We need their help there," he said.
By Sunday, the number of Americans killed in combat had reached 99 so far in April - the deadliest month since the invasion of Iraq in March 2003. In April, there have been dozens of kidnappings of foreigners, including two Americans - a civilian and a soldier.
Asked about the possibility of a prisoner swap with insurgents holding the Americans, national security adviser Condoleezza Rice ruled it out.
"The worst thing the United States of America can do is to give an idea to terrorists and to people who want to intimidate that somehow their intimidation techniques are going to be rewarded," she told ABC's "This Week."
U.S. officials in Iraq are doing all they can to free the captives, she said.
Both Myers and Rice attributed the recent surge in violence to the approaching date for the granting of sovereignty to the Iraqi people.
Rice said the violence might continue for some time ahead of the transfer of power, but that the U.S. military presence will remain. "We will continue to work with Iraqis and the coalition partners to make the place secure," she said on CBS' "Face the Nation."
To deal with the insurgents, the Pentagon announced last week that it was extending by three months the tours of some 20,000 American troops in Iraq.
Myers said military officials worried about the affect of the extensions on the troops and their families. He insisted the fighting on the ground left military leaders with only one choice. "This is not a decision that was taken lightly," he said.
Link: abclocal.go.com/kgo/news/041804AP_nw_syria.html
