US sharply scolds Syria and threatens sanctions
( 2003-04-15 08:55 ) (7 )

The Bush administration sharply scolded Syria Monday, warning it to "ponder the implications" of what Washington says is that country's support of terrorism, its development of chemical weapons and its harboring of fugitives from the Saddam Hussein government.

"Syria is a nation that has long been on the list of terrorist nations," said President Bush's chief spokesman, Ari Fleischer. "They should not do that, they should not be that way; no nation should be."

Earlier Monday, Mr. Fleischer went so far as to call Syria "a rogue nation."

The Syrian government issued a statement denying the various accusations. But the Bush administration repeated its assertions, not only through Mr. Fleischer's remarks but through comments by Secretary of State Colin L. Powell and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld.

Mr. Fleischer was asked at a news briefing whether the administration's posture amounted to a threat to Syria and perhaps a serious threat, given the United States' military success in neighboring Iraq. He repeatedly declined to speculate on whether the harsh language might eventually be supplanted by something else.

"I think that what's next is Syria needs to seriously ponder the implications of their actions in terms of harboring Iraqis who need not and should not be harbored," Mr. Fleischer said. "They should think seriously about their program to develop and to have chemical weapons. I think it's time to think through where they want their place to be in the world."

Mr. Fleischer's comments early Monday afternoon came not long after similar accusations by Mr. Powell, who said the United States is considering stern measures against Syria, and by Mr. Rumsfeld.

"With respect to Syria, of course we will examine possible measures of a diplomatic, economic or other nature," Mr. Powell told reporters at the State Department after conferring with the Kuwaiti foreign minister, Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah.

The statements by the Bush administration leadership, following days of public conjecture on whether Syria might be harboring fugitives from Iraq, appeared to signal a new level of tensions between Washington and the government in Damascus.

Relations between the United States and Syria have been tense for years. Although Syria voted in favor of the United Nations Security Council resolution last fall demanding that Iraq rid itself of weapons of mass destruction, it nevertheless has opposed the American-led military campaign to topple the Hussein government.

Mr. Fleischer said the United States is sure that Iraqi leaders have crossed the border into Syria to find safety. "Why would Syria want to harbor those people?" he asked. "It's an important question, and we look forward to Syria's response to it."

At times, the White House spokesman adopted a stern, lecturing tone toward Syria, urging it in effect to "grow up" and take its place among law-abiding nations. He also alluded to the youth of Syria's leader, Dr. Bashar al-Assad, who is in his 30's.

"It is time for Syria to understand," Mr. Fleischer said. "This is a day of emerging liberation for the people of Iraq, and it's important for President Assad of Syria, who is a new leader, a young man, to understand that the future needs to be different from the past and that the Iraqi people deserve no less; the region deserves no less. Syria is a nation that has long been on the list of terrorist nations."

At the State Department earlier, Mr. Powell and his Kuwaiti counterpart discussed the future of postwar Iraq a day before a conference there on setting up a new political system. "We also talked about Syria," Mr. Powell said, adding pointedly that they were "hopeful that Syria will understand its obligations in this new environment."

As for Iraqi fugitives, Mr. Powell said, "I can't quantify how many might be slipping across the border." He went on: "These are the kinds of individuals who should not be allowed to find safe haven in Syria. And this is a point that we have made to the Syrians directly and we'll continue to make to the Syrians."

Defense Secretary Rumsfeld also insisted that the accusations against Syria are accurate. "Well, first I would say that we have seen the chemical weapons tests in Syria over the past 12, 15 months," the Secretary said in a brief exchange with reporters outside the Pentagon.

"And we have intelligence that indicates that some Iraqi people have been allowed into Syria, in some cases to stay, in some cases to transit," Mr. Rumsfeld added.

Similar condemnations of Syria were made Monday by the British foreign minister, Jack Straw. "There is much evidence of considerable cooperation between the Syrian government and the Saddam regime in recent months," he said at a news conference in Kuwait.

He called for undertakings from Damascus not to assist fugitives from Mr. Hussein's government.

But Britain's prime minister, Tony Blair, said he had spoken to President Assad over the weekend and said he accepted assurances that Damascus was not harboring Iraqi fugitives and that it would stop anyone who was trying to cross over the border.

He added: "Some of the wilder surmises that are in the media at the moment are simply not correct. There are no plans whatever to invade Syria."

With hostilities in Iraq winding down, relations between the United States and Syria are high on the White House agenda, as remarks of the past few days have signaled.

Secretary Powell reiterated concerns expressed over the weekend by President Bush that Syria has been developing weapons of mass destruction, particularly chemical weapons. "And we believe, in light of this new environment, they should review their actions and their behavior, not only with respect to who gets haven in Syria and weapons of mass destruction, but especially the support of terrorist activity," Mr. Powell said.

Even before Mr. Powell's statement, Syria denied that it had chemical weapons and said it had never cooperated with Saddam Hussein's administration.

"Syria has no chemical weapons," a Syrian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Buthaina Shaaban, said in Damascus. "The only chemical, biological and nuclear weapons in the region are in Israel, which is threatening its neighbors and occupying their land."

"There was never any cooperation between Damascus and Baghdad," the spokeswoman added. "Our support was for the Iraqi people who have suffered the plights of wars."

Secretary Powell made it clear that Washington is not convinced that Syria has indeed closed its border to suspected war criminals, as it has asserted.

"We're told the border is closed, but as you know, it's a rather porous border," he said. "And so when you say it's closed, it might mean the main roads are closed, but whether or not others are able to get across the border is something that I can't speak to.