EFL
Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Sharaa on Saturday denied U.S. allegations that Syria is hiding deposed Iraqi leader Saddam's Hussein's weapons of mass destruction and sheltering leaders of Saddam's fallen regime. At a news briefing with French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin, Sharaa said U.S. complaints against Syria came "from fanatic circles" in the Bush administration who want to "degrade Syria's role in the region."
| That's a thought that cheers must of us here in the rational world... |
De Villepin arrived in Syria for meetings with Syrian President Basher al-Assad the day after Syria, responding to U.S. pressure, closed its border with Iraq. At the news briefing, Sharaa faced more questions about U.S. claims. "Sometimes I don't think the Americans know what they want," he said. "They accuse us of hiding Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, but they don't listen when we tell them we don't have any. We have no weapons and we harbor no one and they bring us no evidence."
| But sometimes he's afraid the Americans do know what they want... |
Then, talking about the Bush administration's military actions in Afghanistan and Iraq, Sharaa questioned the United States' motive. "Look at all these things: Is Afghanistan stable? Have their objectives been achieved? Have they found Osama bin Laden?" he asked, before mentioning the "looting and lawlessness" that followed the fall of Saddam's regime. "They've left a mess in both these countries and they're not finished. Now turning their attention to a third country," he said. "Historians talk about the Second World War and how the Germans should have been stopped earlier."
| On the other hand, what possible motive can we have for invading and occupying two Third World ratholes other than the ones we've stated? Can anyone think of any reason why we'd really want Afghanistan for our very own? |
Then, just before Sharaa was about to compare the Bush administration to Nazi Germany, France's de Villepin stopped him. "You do not want to make this comparison," de Villepin said. "Don't do this."
| Good move. Real good move. Chills must have run up and down Dominique's spine when he started on that tack... |
Sharaa regained his composure and talked about the need to maintain dialogue and peace in the region. U.S. intelligence officials said that while some relatives of senior Iraqi officials have crossed into Syria, they have no clear evidence any Iraqi officials themselves have done so. The United States said it is watching the Iraqi-Syrian border closely. |