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Syria-Lebanon
Rice actions on Syria disputed
2003-05-03
Anna Perez, White House communications counselor, Friday sharply contested a United Press International report that national security adviser Condoleezza Rice and political adviser Karl Rove shut down a Pentagon plan to expand the Iraqi ground war to Syria in closing days of combat. "That never happened," she said. "It is a complete fabrication."
Powell's in Syria right now, isn't he? This story gives him something to talk to Bashar about...
Perez also said there was no meeting on this subject at the White House with Israeli National Security Adviser Efrian Halevy and other officials. UPI's report, published Friday afternoon, quoted unidentified administration officials as saying that a combination of Pentagon hawks and senior Israeli officials had been pressing the United States to expand the ground war to Syria.
Hitting Syria then would have been foolish. A lot of Americans would have said, "what the hey?"
On the other hand, hinting to Syria that they got off by the skin of their collective teeth isn't a bad diplowhacker...
The U.S. strikes on Syria would have taken the form of brief across-the-border forays under "hot pursuit" rules of engagement. They said contingency plans for such raids were being drawn up by Doug Feith, undersecretary of defense for policy, after the approval of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. In response to Halevy's entreaties for action, these sources said, Rice repeated an assertion that the White House did not want any further military campaigns for the rest of Bush's first term, according to the sources. They said Rumsfeld objected, and, at one point, turned to Rove and asked his opinion. Rove said the president agreed with Rice, and the meeting came to an end.
That's too bad. I was hoping they'd thump a third target, just to drive the message home...
Perez asserted Friday that this meeting didn't take place. She also said that to her knowledge, UPI had not attempted to contact participants.
Of course not. The story was a plant...
Beginning Monday, UPI began calling White House officials to get the administration's position on the story. It placed a call to Sean McCormack, director of communications for the National Security Council, on several occasions and left voice messages. The calls were not returned.
"We ain't talkin'!"
The hawks proposed punitive raids because Syria and the United States already were bristling at each other, and the war simply took an unfortunate series of circumstances and brought them to a point of crisis, administration sources said. In spite of Syria's heightened cooperation in the war on terror, with Syria giving the United States much useful information about al-Qaida, it was still supporting Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein in the war. Former CIA Middle East expert Bob Baer told UPI that Syria possesses "a chemical arsenal that is much more lethal than anything Saddam has," and explained that "in Israeli strategic thought, the most dangerous threat is the geographically closest" — which would mean Syria.
Posted by:Steve White

#2  ... and at the same time as 1AD is being deployed to Iraq.
The 82nd is pulling out.
International peacekeepers are pouring in.
That's going to leave us with 1AD, 3ID, 4ID and 101AAD in the 'army' sector, which is to say, Baghdad and north.
Powell can definitely afford to speak softly.
Posted by: Dishman   2003-05-03 17:48:52  

#1  Good cop/bad cop leaks to get Syria's attention. "Deal with Colin today -- that's the best deal you're going to get!"
Posted by: Tom   2003-05-03 08:50:29  

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