 The United States and Britain called Sunday for an international stand against Syria in the wake of a U.N. report that implicated Syrian officials in the assassination of a former Lebanese leader. Syria countered by discounting the report as an American plot and began a diplomatic drive to explain its position. A Syrian official, deputy Foreign Minister Walid Moallem, said the pressure on Syria was because of America's aim of dominating the region. He denied that he had threatened the former Lebanese prime minister, Rafik Hariri, days before Hariri was assassinated as the U.N. report said. "This is totally untrue," Moallem said in the first response by a Syrian official named in the report.
| "Nope. Nope. Never happened. Wudn't me." |
The U.S.-British call for action, in a joint BBC interview by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, underlined the growing pressure on Syria as it faces possible action by the U.N. Security Council later this week. "The report indicated that people of a high level of this Syrian regime were implicated," Straw told the BBC. "We also have evidence .... of false testimony being given by senior people in the regime. This is very serious." Rice called for "a firm response" from the international community.
| And we all know how firm the response from the International Community™ can be... |
Officials in Washington have said privately that the United States is considering pushing for possible U.N. sanctions against Syria, or to have any criminal cases heard by an international tribunal.
| I'd actually call that a good move, despite the existence of Carla del Ponte. Holding the trial in Leb would open up a bidding war between Syria and the rest of the world to buy the judges, who would also have to be extremely careful when starting their cars. Holding the trials in Helsinki or Barcelona would help keep the corpse count down. |
Straw said earlier that U.N. Security Council members would consider sanctions. But it is not clear if the United States and Britain have members like Russia on their side.
| They usually don't. That's why UN sanctions are such a laughingstock. |
French Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie,
in an interview published Sunday in the Le Parisien newspaper, called on Syria to cooperate with a U.N. investigation into Hariri's murder and said any country involved in the killing should face economic sanctions.
| Well, that oughta do it... |
Syrian President Bashar Assad on Sunday sent a message to the members of the U.N. Security Council concerning Syria's position and the consultations on the U.N. report, Syria's official news agency reported. The Syrian Foreign Ministry delivered the letters to representatives of the countries in Damascus, but the content of the message was not divulged.
| Probably the usual pious denial. It's too early in the game to be asking for terms of surrender... |
Syria's parliament also set up a committee of specialists to study the U.N. report.
| And I'm sure they'll get right on it and cough up all the perps with blinding alacrity... |
Also in Damascus on Sunday, the Central Command of Syria's National Progressive Front criticized the U.N. report, saying it was based on "suspicions and testimonies of unreliable persons who lack credibility."
| Well, they had to take testimony from Baathists. Who else was involved? |
The front, headed by Assad, is Syria's highest decision-making body. A front statement, carried by Syria's official news agency SANA, said the report contained "contradictions and twisting of facts."
| ... something which is easily recognizable in Syria. |
In addition, about 100 Syrian lawyers marched to the United Nations' headquarters here to protest the report. They handed a U.N. official a letter addressed to U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, which said the report contained "gross legal mistakes and violations of the simplest rules and measures of judicial authorities." The letter said the report was based on the testimony of witnesses biased against Syria politically. |