U.S. DRAFTS PLANS AGAINST SYRIA
WASHINGTON [MENL] -- The Bush administration has drafted contingency
plans meant to increase military pressure on Syria.
Officials said that after two years of debate the White House has
ordered a range of U.S. options against the regime of Syrian President
Bashar Assad. They said the administration has determined that
diplomacy failed to resolve U.S. concerns regarding Syrian policy on
such issues as Iraq, weapons of mass destruction, Lebanon and support
for groups deemed terrorist.
The administration has concluded that Syria has been working to
destabilize the interim government in Iraq, officials said. They said
the Assad regime has been harboring senior operatives of Abu Mussib Al
Zarqawi, regarded as the most lethal insurgent in Iraq, aides to
Saddam Hussein as well as Iraqi nuclear scientists as part of a Syrian
policy coordinated with Iran.
Officials warned that unless Syria changes its policy within the next
few weeks, the administration would consider economic and military
measures against Damascus that would intensify in 2005. They said the
Defense Department has drafted a range of military options meant to
put Damascus on the defensive and encourage insurrection within Syria.
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