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Richard Perle notes âbig problemsâ with Saudi Arabia and Syria
An advisor to Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Richard Perle, told CNN on Sunday: âThe Saudis qualify for their own membership in the axis of evil,â which President George W Bush described as Iran, Saddam Husseinâs Iraq and North Korea. âI hope that those who believe that we are now getting full cooperation are right,â he added, referring to Saudi Arabiaâs role in the war on terror following the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States. âI have yet to see the evidence,â Perle charged in the latest assault on the kingdom by influential US neo-conservatives. He said that the United States had âbig problemsâ with Syria which allowed terrorists to enter Iraq via its territory. âOne of the things theyâre (the Syrians) doing is facilitating the entry into Iraq of terrorists who are there to kill Americans,â Richard Perle told CNN. âTheyâre holding on to money that belongs to the people of Iraq. And theyâre building chemical weapons, at least. So we have big problems with the Syrians.â On January 5, Syrian Foreign Minister Faruq al-Shara said he wanted to see improved relations between Washington and Syria following the US adoption of legislation paving the way for unilateral sanctions against his government. Syrian media on Saturday called for Washington to wield its influence and help revive peace talks with Israel that collapsed in acrimony four years ago. But, said Perle, the Syrians âfrom time to time, will throw us a crumb, a piece of intelligence here, or theyâll take a minor step there. And they hope, and in the past theyâve sometimes been right, that that that will deflect us from what ought to be our course, which is a real change in their policy.â Posted by: Fred Pruitt 2004-01-13 |
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