US President George W. Bush has demanded immediate UN action to deal with what he called a "deeply disturbing" U.N. investigative report implicating Syrian officials in the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Speaking from California, Bush said: "The report strongly suggests that the politically motivated assassination could not have taken place without Syrian involvement."U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice also demanded "accountability" for Syria's alleged involvement in the killing. "Accountability is going to be very important for the international community," Rice said, as she flew with British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw on a tour of Alabama.
However, Syria dismissed as "politicized" and "unprofessional" the findings of the head of the UN inquiry into the assassination, Detlev Mehlis, who pointed a finger of blame directly toward Syrian security officials. "The report is full of political rumors, gossip and hearsay, and it has not a single shred of evidence that will be accepted by any court of law. We are so disappointed with it," said Syrian Ambassador to the U.S. Imad Mustafa.
But according to Rice, "We cannot have the specter of one state's apparatus having participated or having been involved in the assassination of the former prime minister ... in another state."