WASHINGTON - The United States said Wednesday it supported Syrian opposition groups rivalling President Bashar Al Assad, but said such support was overt, and not a secret bid to undermine his government. New scrutiny of tense US-Syria relations came after Time magazine ran an exclusive report on its website, based on a classified document it said showed the Bush administration was mulling an effort to fund opposition to Assad.
| Good old MSM strikes again, publishing a classified document about our activities. Strange, they didn't do this when a Democrat was president ... |
It said some critics charge such an initiative would amount to a covert action to influence a foreign government, and so leave the White House legally bound to inform Congress.
State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the United States supported Syrian civil society groups, in line with its global bid to foster democracy around the world. “Any activities the State Department are involved in are overt, they’re funded through our Middle East initiatives, and they’re for all to see,” he said. “There are public reports on these things. We talk to the Congress about them.”
| Waiting for Pat Leahy or Charlie Shumer to open up in 5 .. 4 .. 3 .. |
Time said that one proposal being considered was an election monitoring program that would need to be concealed to be effective. The report said the US effort was particularly targeting legislative elections in Syria due in March.
A White House official, who requested anonymity, said election monitoring was “an important component of any free election, and the US supports the training of monitors.”
| Which we did in places like Ukraine, Peru and Georgia. It's an effective program and another arrow in our quiver against thugs and jihadis. Makes you wonder what Time has against it. |
The official did not say specifically if the United States was planning such an effort in Syria, but added : “it is currently not possible for the Syrian people, much less international experts, to freely monitor elections inside Syria in order to make sure that they are conducted according to internationally recognized standards.
“The Syrian government should permit the freedom of movement, speech, and association of those in Syria who want to monitor the upcoming elections in 2007,” the official said. “We are very open about the fact that the President’s Freedom Agenda makes democratic development in the Middle East a priority for US foreign policy.”This includes assisting people in the region who want to participate in free and fair elections that meet international standards.”
Time said the election monitoring scheme could involve “Internet accessible materials” available for printing and disseminating throughout Syria and neighbouring countries.
| Rather hard for that to be covert, isn't it? Seems like it's right out in the open. |
The proposal also called for voter education campaigns and public opinion polling and a surreptitious effort to provide support for at least on Syrian politician, the magazine said. |