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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| US in recent firefights with Syria::Cambodia |
| 2005-10-16 |
| WASHINGTON - A series of clashes in the past year between U.S. and Syrian troops, including a prolonged firefight this summer that killed several Syrians, has raised The firefight, between Army Rangers and Syrian troops along the border with Iraq, was the most serious of the conflicts with President Bashar al-Assad's forces, according to U.S. and Syrian officials. It illustrated the dangers facing U.S. troops as Washington tries to apply more political and military pressure on a country that President Bush last week labeled one of the "allies of convenience" with extremists. One of Bush's most senior aides, who declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the subject, said that so far U.S. military forces in Iraq had moved right up to the border to cut off the entry of insurgents, but he insisted that they had refrained from going over it. But other officials, who say they got their information in the field or by talking to Special Operations commanders, say that as U.S. efforts to cut off the flow of fighters have intensified, those operations have spilled over the border — sometimes by accident, sometimes by design. Some current and former officials add that the U.S. military is considering plans to conduct special operations inside Syria, using small covert teams for intelligence gathering. The broadening military effort along the Iraqi-Syrian border has intensified as the Iraqi constitutional referendum scheduled for today approaches, and as frustration mounts in the Bush administration and among senior U.S. commanders over their inability to prevent foreign radical Islamists from engaging in suicide bombings and other deadly terrorist acts inside Iraq. Increasingly, officials say, Syria is to the Iraq war what Cambodia was during the Vietnam War: a sanctuary for fighters, money and supplies to flow over the border and, ultimately, a place for a shadow struggle. Quagmire!!! In the summer firefight, several Syrian troops were killed, leading to a protest from the Syrian government to the U.S. Embassy in Damascus, according to U.S. and Syrian officials. A military official who spoke with some of the Rangers who took part in the incident said they had described it as an intense firefight, although it could not be learned whether there had been any U.S. casualties, nor could the exact location of the clash be learned. In a meeting at the White House on Oct. 1, senior aides to Bush considered a variety of options for further actions against Syria, apparently including U.S. officials say Bush has not yet signed off on a specific strategy and has no current plan to try to oust Assad, in part for fear of who might take over. The United States is not planning large-scale military operations inside Syria "There is no finding on Syria," said one senior official, using the term for presidential approval of a covert action program. "We've got our hands full in the neighborhood," added a senior official. |
| Posted by:Spegum Spavirt2887 |
| #11 NIXON was right to send in US-SVN troops into Cambodia, as afterwards the level of Commie supplies into SVN dropped dramatically.As for SYRIA, its to Syria's and Assad's advantage to work with Dubya and the USA, as its the ambitions of Iran's Mullahs to spread fundamentalist and Shia rule over the ME, includ but limited to Syria. Iff news reports of IRGC taking control of Hezbollah and Hamas are true, the IRGC isn't going to stop at controlling only the militias. Ditto for China vs Taiwan - iff Beijing wilfully recognizes Taiwan's independence, the USA will work to stop Taiwan from any attempt to overthrow the CPC. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2005-10-16 20:50 |
| #10 Whatever you do, don't ask JFK about his lucky turban... |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2005-10-16 14:20 |
| #9 that wasn't a camel, that was Terayyyyyzah. She just looked like one at the time....desert winds sapping the moisturizer, you know? |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-10-16 14:18 |
| #8 I'll wager the camel's memory is both more seared and more accurate. Seared, but accurate. |
| Posted by: .com 2005-10-16 13:59 |
| #7 Just like WorldCom's Bernard Ebbers & Enron's Andrew Fastow, Pinchy faces long Prison stretch. In a stunning developement, New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer has indicted the owner of the NYT for continuing to defraud investors and advertisers with false circulation figures. Story by Jayson Blair. |
| Posted by: Red Dog 2005-10-16 13:36 |
| #6 |
| Posted by: Phavimp Wholuter5178 2005-10-16 13:32 |
| #5 Hey JFK, I thought you were a billionaire, what did you do, buy an airline? ;) |
| Posted by: Tony (UK) 2005-10-16 13:32 |
| #4 I can remember spending Labor Day on my swift camel in Syria as the President denied we had crossed the border. The event is seared -- seared, I tell you -- into my memory. |
| Posted by: J. Forbes Kerry, millionaire 2005-10-16 13:25 |
| #3 Increasingly, officials say, Syria is to the Iraq war what Cambodia was during the Vietnam War: a sanctuary for fighters, money and supplies to flow over the border and, ultimately, a place for a shadow struggle. Quagmire!!! Actually more like chasing the Apache into Mexico. At a certain point the diplomatic crap was dropped and pursuit columns were sent across the border. As more pressure was put on raiders they eventually choose to stay home and turned on their hosts. Notice how the New Mexico Territory turned out? |
| Posted by: Hupeagum Crineting8308 2005-10-16 13:19 |
| #2 Lol, Matt! Graphic but accurate. I like it, heh. |
| Posted by: .com 2005-10-16 13:00 |
| #1 Only the NYT would describe a firefight between US Army Rangers and Syrian troops as "illustrating the dangers facing US troops." What, they're in danger of running out of targets? The A-10's are chopping the Syrians up so fine that the Rangers have to strain the remains for intel? |
| Posted by: Matt 2005-10-16 12:34 |
