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Syria-Lebanon
We won’t scrap WMD stockpile unless Israel does, says Assad
2004-01-06
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Syria is entitled to defend itself by acquiring its own chemical and biological deterrent, President Bashar Assad said last night as he rejected American and British demands for concessions on weapons of mass destruction.
Sounds like he might have a stash from... ummm... somewhere.
In his first major statement since Libya’s decision last month to scrap its nuclear and chemical programmes, he came closer than ever before to admitting that his country possessed stockpiles of WMD. Speaking to The Telegraph, Mr Assad said that any deal to destroy Syria’s chemical and biological capability would come about only if Israel agreed to abandon its undeclared nuclear arsenal.
You're assuming you stay in charge.
Since the capture of Saddam Hussein and Col Muammar Gaddafi’s decision to dismantle his WMD programme, Mr Assad has risen towards the top of America’s poop target list.
Doncha love it when people get to the top based on merit.
The White House and Downing Street have been waiting for his response to Col Gaddafi’s appeal for other Arab leaders to follow his example or risk inflicting a "tragedy" on their people. Asked about American and British claims that Syria had a WMD capability, he stopped short of the categorical denial that has been his government’s stock response until now.
Hasn't had any until now, has he?
Instead, he pointed to the Israelis’ recent attack on alleged Palestinian bases in Syria and the occupation of the Golan Heights as evidence that Syria needed a deterrent. "We are a country which is [partly] occupied and from time to time we are exposed to Israeli aggression," he said. "It is natural for us to look for means to defend ourselves. It is not difficult to get most of these weapons anywhere in the world and they can be obtained at any time."
"All y'gotta do is call a Pak. The secret password is 'Koran.'..."
It is the worst kept secret in the Middle East that Damascus has one of the largest stockpiles of chemical agents in the region. The latest CIA report on weapons of mass destruction says: "Syria continued to seek CW-related expertise from foreign sources [this year]. Damascus already held a stockpile of the nerve agent sarin but apparently tried to develop more toxic and persistent nerve agents. It is highly probable that Syria also continued to develop an offensive BW [biological weapon] capability." Mr Assad tempered his refusal to compromise on WMD by holding out the prospect of joint patrols with America along the Syria-Iraq border to prevent the passage of arms and fighters.
That's a pretty daggone wilted-looking carrot. Kinda pale, too. Y'sure it didn't used to be an underfed turnip?
Acknowledging pressure from the US and Britain to crack down on Palestinian extremists based in Syria, he claimed that their offices had been closed and their activities curtailed. The groups could no longer "do anything military from these places. They are closed".
All you need is a telephone to issue orders. All you need is a bank account to fund...
But he risked infuriating the West by stepping up his defence of Palestinian suicide bombers. He said the attacks had become "a reality we cannot control" and blamed them on "the Israeli killings, the Israeli occupations". Despite his passionate advocacy of the Palestinian cause and his use in the past of inflammatory language about Israel and Jews, he denied hating them. "If you hate, you cannot talk about peace," he said.
Actually, you can talk about it all you want, 'til your lips go numb and eventually fall off. If you hate, you cannot actually make peace. Can you, you hateful bastard?
Tony Blair, speaking on a flight back from Iraq before news emerged of the Assad interview, repeated his hope that Syria would follow Libya’s example. He said: "We offer Syria the possibility of a partnership for the future. But it is important that they realise that the terms are very clear and have been set out by ourselves and the Americans many times. You can see very clearly with what happened just before Christmas in respect of Libya that it is important to say to countries that may have engaged in such programmes: ’Look, there is a different way of dealing with this.’ It can be dealt with diplomatically if people are prepared to do so, but it does have to be dealt with."
Sounds like a classic good cop warning to me. I wonder if Blair and Bush practice the routine when they get together :-)
I don’t rate Assad's chances of lasting out the year. Also check out a terrific editorial and also an article on Assad’s attitude to paleo boomers in the same edition of the Telegraph.
Posted by:phil_b

#19  O.K.
phil - If say, Syria were to submit their Chem stockpile to int'l inspection to prevent terrorist use, then Israel should have to also. I don't have any love for Assad or Syria. I just don't trust all that Israeli money flowing around D.C.

Frank - As to our forces being used as a mercenary blocking force for Israel - you might be surprised how many in our military think so. Anyway, the whole ME knows that. Oil? No, I said, "Israel's security".

Robert - Blaming the Jews? Not as a whole. Some of them?
Absolutely.

Tibor - If Saddam's WMD's are in Syria, then we demand that they hand them over. If not, then we go in and get them. And we'd better have better intel than in Iraq. Oh yeah, weenie, do you have any kin in harm's way? If not, you're a hypocrite.

OP - not a bad idea, as long as the compensation runs both ways. Make sure you go back to the Stern gang.

Oh, and Fred - they're just people. Unsophisticated and dispossessed. Believing bad lies, and unlucky as to their homeland. So maybe they should be exterminated, huh? It seems like a lot of people around here think so. Was fostering that idea your intention?
Posted by: Scott   2004-1-7 3:18:31 AM  

#18   Paleostinians are also known as Pals, Palis, Philistines, and Lemmings.
Fred, you forgot to mention that 100% of them are Lebanese, Jordanian, Syrian, Saudi, Egyptian, or Lilliputian Arabs from somewhere else other than Palestine, which only existed in the minds of the citizens of these other countries. The biggest argument against "redrawing" the borders of Israel is that both Egypt and Jordan issued "occupation" stamps for the areas of Israel under their control, and labelled them "Palestine". The entire "Palestine" question could be settled by assigning a trillion-dollar indemnity to the "Palestinian people" for crimes against Israel and Israeli citizens. See how fast all those "Palestinians" suddenly reverted to their original nationality.
Posted by: Old Patriot   2004-1-7 12:55:16 AM  

#17  
#2
"Paleos" are natives of Paleostine, a primitive area adjacent to Israel.

Paleostinians are also known as Pals, Palis, Philistines, and Lemmings.
Posted by: Fred   2004-1-6 10:40:02 PM  

#16  A Syrian defector and regime critic just published a story in Western Europe saying that Saddam's WMD are in three places in Syria.

And Scott, you're a weenie. Any country's WMD are our business because we're the great Satan.
Posted by: Tibor   2004-1-6 10:39:16 PM  

#15  No, Frank, I think he's blaming the Jooooooossssss!!!
Posted by: Robert Crawford   2004-1-6 8:51:09 PM  

#14  phil b - you gave Scott too much credit - he refers to our military as "mercenary forces" ...i.e.: it's all about the oooiiilllll
Posted by: Frank G   2004-1-6 8:27:08 PM  

#13  Scott - In a nutshell for the last 50 years or so, the international order has been based on you can do whatever nasty things you like to your own citizens, as long as you don't cross any borders.

That has now changed and doing nasty things to your own citizens is prima facia evidence you are capable of doing nasty things to us or supporting people who would. Quaddafi grasped this, and realized the world has changed. Assad doesn't seem to have grasped the point and is stuck in the old mindset.

My prediction for 2004 is we will get solid proof that Iraqi WMDs went to Syria and issue an ultimatum to Assad along the lines of 'There will be verfied disposal one way or another, you have x days to choose.' Blair has basically said this already.
Posted by: phil_b   2004-1-6 7:32:13 PM  

#12  Syria's WMD might easily find their way into the hands of terrorists. They are a regime that has supported terrorists and continues to support terrorists. They are everyones problem. Problems should be solved, and if that means invasion so be it. Although he's not as bad as Saddam by a longshot, or his father, Assad Jr. is still a first class bastard and if he doesn't see the writing on the wall and pull a Quadaffi I won't weep.
Posted by: ruprecht   2004-1-6 6:55:23 PM  

#11  BusHitler was selected not elected, by
Dick Cheney and Haliburton, to start a war
in Iraq to steal the oil.
Bush lied... thousand died.
Mars is made of Jello.

BOOGER, BOOGER, BOOGER, BOOGER
Posted by: J. Fever M.D.   2004-1-6 5:37:35 PM  

#10  If all things were on the up and up, I wouldn't see anything wrong with Assad's position. Would we give up ours? Would Israel give up theirs?

He has at least two divisions of what he believes (possibly correctly) to be a mercenary force two days away and certainly believes that they were going to eliminate him next, with or without WMD's.(or was it Iran 1st, Syria 2nd?)

Syria's WMD's are Israel's problem, not ours. Why should any of our young people die for Israel's security?
Posted by: Scott   2004-1-6 3:53:47 PM  

#9  ruprecht, I am asking the same question. This line worked real well for Saddam.

Hey Assad, that sign on your back says (in English): KICK ME!
Posted by: john   2004-1-6 3:21:27 PM  

#8  Paleo you mean Balestintians?
Posted by: Shipman   2004-1-6 2:43:30 PM  

#7  It is the worst kept secret in the Middle East that Damascus has one of the largest stockpiles of chemical agents in the region.

Rather settles the question of where all the Iraqi WMD went.

If Blair is going to be effective as the good cop, we as the bad cop have to keep up with the menacing words and poses. "Tony, go get a doughnut, I'll get this mutt to confess!"
Posted by: Steve White   2004-1-6 1:34:26 PM  

#6  Did I read that wrong or did Assad just admit having WMD and say he wouldn't get rid of them.

Tactically that's not really a bright thing to be saying rigth now.
Posted by: ruprecht   2004-1-6 11:56:16 AM  

#5  Rivrdog: We call them Paleos because Troglodyte is just too hard to spell.
Posted by: BH   2004-1-6 10:33:20 AM  

#4  Rivrdog, to clarify, "Paleo" implies a certain primitiveness....
Posted by: Carl in N.H.   2004-1-6 9:39:12 AM  

#3  Riverdog - Paleo kind of rolls off the tongue and has a nice connatation of being fossilized and dead. Somebody else referred to 'paleo boomers' and I just picked up the expression.
Posted by: phil_b   2004-1-6 8:32:34 AM  

#2  OK, get out the cluebat, I need some help. In past references to suicide bombers, the nationality was referred to as "Pali", and now it's "Paleo". Is this change an attempt to mix the study of fossils and the study of this particular military-political weapon? I could understand if the reference "Paleo" was used in regard to Mr. Arafat, since that leader is fossilized in both time and ideology, but the current crop of boomers seems to be getting more and more Jihadist than anti-zionist, and if so, that would indicate Arafat's influence is lessening whilst the fundie mullahs' increases.
Posted by: Rivrdog   2004-1-6 7:31:24 AM  

#1  phil_b:

Blair sez: "It can be dealt with diplomatically if people are prepared to do so, but it does have to be dealt with."

Yep, that's Chapter 2, page 47 of the Good Cop/Bad Cop Manual (2001 edition): "Look, we can do this the easy way, or we can do this the hard way, see ?"

Posted by: Carl in NH   2004-1-6 6:14:06 AM  

00:00