DAMASCUS - Syria on Wednesday challenged the United States to submit evidence about its claims that it has failed to control the flow of militants into Iraq, saying Washington was trying to turn Syria the âscapegoatâ for US failures in Iraq.| And my, look at the perfect scapegoat we just found ... |
Speaking at a press conference with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani during the latterâs visit to Washington, Bush had said he would raise the Syrian issue in conversations with friendly countries at the United Nations this week. âThe Syrian government can do a lot more to prevent the flow of foreign fighters into Iraq,â he said, adding that Syria is âgoing to become more and more isolatedâ as a result of its policies toward both Iraq and Lebanon.
The Syrian government newspaper said Bushâs statement was an âunjustified escalationâ of political pressures on Syria relating to two issues, the question of militants in Iraq, and Syriaâs response to the UN probe into the killing of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Tishrin said the Bush administration insisted âon directing false accusations ... without submitting any evidence.â
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