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| Syria-Lebanon |
| Syria To Submit |
| 2003-04-17 |
| Iâve put in an order for a new surprise meter. It gave one horrendous squeal and exploded. Or maybe that was the bullshite meter? DAMASCUS - In response to U.S. incessant allegations that it possesses chemical weapons, Damascus said Wednesday, April 16, it would submit a resolution to the UN Security Council calling for the Middle East to be free of weapons of mass destruction. "Damascus would very soon submit a draft resolution to the U.N. Security Council calling for a Middle East free of weapons of mass destruction," Bussaina Shaaban, director of the ministry's information department, told Agence France-Presse (AFP). Now I KNOW pigs have grown wings, and THEY are the ones decimating the seed in my bird-feeder out back! "If the United States and others are worried about mass destruction weapons, chemical, nuclear or biological, passing into the hands of terrorists we would like this to be materialized by a draft resolution," said Mrs. Shaaban, whose country holds a rotating seat in the UNSC and is the only Arab member in the council. {sarcasm}ANOTHER resolution! Hooray! We are saved! Theyâre going to write a resolution. Whoopie. Those resolutions have carried so much weight in the past, and they have accomplished so very much. {/sarcasm} "Syria has got the approval of the Arab group in the UN and it will submit it to the Security Council very soon, to make the Middle East a zone free of all mass destruction weapons," she added. Shaaban accused Israel, widely believed to have nuclear weapons, of launching a campaign "in order to harm Syrian-U.S. relations." You mean, worse than the Syrians have damaged it?! Is that even possible? Meanwhile, Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou told Syrian Foreign Minister Faruq al-Shara by phone Wednesday that "nobody believes Syria has weapons of mass destruction on its territory." Was this one of those Papandreou, whose country currently holds the rotating EU presidency, added that U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell had assured him "there were no belligerent U.S. plans against Syria," the official SANA new agency reported. The two also agreed that U.S. threats against Syria were "raising tension in the region and undermining the prospect for a just and durable peace," SANA said. Syria's decision to submit the resolution was likely a bid to bring pressure on Israel. Syria has complained of U.S. double standards in ignoring "Israel's undeclared stock of nuclear weapons." "It is Israel which has a big arsenal of weapons of mass destruction," Syria's UN ambassador, Rostom al-Zoubi, told CNN Tuesday, April 15. âYou put out his eye!â âNo I didnât! So what if I did? THEY said I didnât! And anyway, what about them? Iâm sure theyâve got plans to put out MY eye! Punish them instead.â Meanwhile, Shaaban reiterated rejection of U.S. accusations that it was harbouring members of the Iraqi regime on the run from the U.S.-led forces. "Allegations of Syria providing refuge to some symbols of the Iraqi regime are absolutely groundless," she said. Read: âThey never had to put their feet on the ground. They were whisked away to a safe tall place.â "Syria never had good relations with the Iraqi regime, and in fact there were many operations done against our citizens by the Iraqi regime in the past, and so these kinds of allegations are absolutely groundless," she added, in a reference to the series of attacks in Syria in the 1980s blamed on Baghdad. Is all of Syria groundless? Damascus had been backing Tehran in the vicious 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war that left more than one million people dead. In response to Bush's call on Sunday, April 13, that Syria "must cooperate" with Washington and not give refuge to members to he Iraqi regime, Shaaban said the Iraq-Syria border was closed "except for medical help that is done through the Red Cross." â⊠and a few Bush accused Syria Sunday of possessing chemical weapons, charged that its nationals had engaged U.S. troops in Baghdad and warned against allowing senior Iraqi leaders to escape through its territory. On Monday, April 14, the U.S. warned Syria that it might impose diplomatic and economic sanctions on Damascus. In addition to cutting off the illegally pumped 200,000 b/d of oil pipeline. (If my numbers are correct?) |
| Posted by:Tadderly |
| #9 Syria wants to bring the AoW, UN, EU, and all the ships at sea into this thing. That way they can wiggle out of doing anything. Speak softly and carry a big stick, oh...and valve wrenches... |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2003-04-17 15:35:05 |
| #8 You've all hit the nail on the head. I'll bet this makes the rounds Sunday morning, and George Stinkypimpleface brings up Isreal. NOT Iran, OR Syria. |
| Posted by: Mike N. 2003-04-17 15:09:49 |
| #7 The State Dept transcript differed slightly from the news release on Powell's comments (from Best of the Web): Here's the State Department's version of the quote; the words in all caps do not appear in the AP's quote: "There is no war plan RIGHT NOW to go attack someone else, either for the purpose of overthrowing their leadership or for the purpose of imposing democratic values." |
| Posted by: Frank G 2003-04-17 15:08:59 |
| #6 This is absulutely a cynical and thinly veiled attempt to target Israel and its purported possession of nuclear weapons. The thing is that the anti-Israeli/anti-Coalition crowd will eat this up. |
| Posted by: ColoradoConservative 2003-04-17 14:55:10 |
| #5 regional WMD disarmament has already come up. Both Israel and the US have called for it to occur through regional negotiations - which imply all regional states recognizing Israel. Your move, Syria. |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2003-04-17 14:51:42 |
| #4 Sneaky. If we accept it, it will oblige us to put pressure on Israel. |
| Posted by: FormerLiberal 2003-04-17 14:30:40 |
| #3 You've all hit the nail on the head. I'll bet this makes the rounds Sunday morning, and George Stinkypimpleface brings up Isreal. NOT Iran, OR Syria. |
| Posted by: Mike N. 4/17/2003 3:09:49 PM |
| #2 The State Dept transcript differed slightly from the news release on Powell's comments (from Best of the Web): Here's the State Department's version of the quote; the words in all caps do not appear in the AP's quote: "There is no war plan RIGHT NOW to go attack someone else, either for the purpose of overthrowing their leadership or for the purpose of imposing democratic values." |
| Posted by: Frank G 4/17/2003 3:08:59 PM |
| #1 This is absulutely a cynical and thinly veiled attempt to target Israel and its purported possession of nuclear weapons. The thing is that the anti-Israeli/anti-Coalition crowd will eat this up. |
| Posted by: ColoradoConservative 4/17/2003 2:55:10 PM |