Syrian media slams arab 'green light' for US attacks

Syrian media accused Arab governments on Tuesday of giving Washington prior agreement for military action against jihadists, with one newspaper calling for Damascus to form an alternative alliance with Moscow and Teheran.

The commentary comes ahead of talks in Saudi Arabia on Thursday between US Secretary of State John Kerry and regional allies on joint action to tackle the threat posed by the Islamic State group in both Syria and Iraq.

"Washington, which used the false pretext of weapons of mass destruction to enter the region militarily in 2003 and draw new geopolitical lines, ... is returning today under a new false pretext, the fight against terrorism," said the Al-Baath newspaper, the organ of Syria's ruling party.

"The Arabs, meanwhile, are absent from every decision and are playing secondary roles," it added.

The newspaper was referring to the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 in which the alleged chemical and biological weapons that were used to justify the overthrow of Saddam Hussein's government were never found.

Kerry is set to meet foreign ministers from Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon, Turkey and the six Gulf Arab states in Saudi Arabia on Thursday.

The talks are part of US efforts to build a coalition to tackle the Islamic State group, which has seized large tracts of territory in both Syria and Iraq, and carried out abuses that include the decapitation of Syrians and Iraqis, as well as two US journalists.

On Sunday, the Arab League pledged to take "necessary measures" to confront the Islamic State group, and said it was ready for "international cooperation on all fronts".

But Syria, and its ally, Iran, will not be present at the talks in Saudi Arabia, and Damascus fears efforts to tackle the Islamic State group will involve airstrikes on its territory without its permission.

The government-run newspaper Al-Thawra warned: "The United States is setting the stage to bring new wars to the region.

The Syrian government daily Tishreen questioned why Kerry and US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel were coming to the region "when the Arab League has already given its prior agreement for a new war in the region organized by the United States".

One newspaper close to the government called for the formation of an alternative "Russian-Iranian-Syrian coalition" against the jihadists to that being put together by Washington.

"Western and regional governments are excluding the nations that really want to fight terrorism," it said.

(China Daily 09/10/2014 page10)