Syria - Weapons of Mass Destruction and Pulling Out of Lebanon

CIA can't rule out WMD move to Syria

The CIA's chief weapons inspector said he cannot rule out the possibility that Iraqi weapons of mass destruction were secretly shipped to Syria before the March 2003 invasion…

"Whether Syria received military items from Iraq for safekeeping or other reasons has yet to be determined," he said. "There was evidence of a discussion of possible WMD collaboration initiated by a Syrian security officer…"

"It was unlikely that an official transfer of WMD material from Iraq to Syria took place," his report stated. "However, ISG was unable to rule out unofficial movement of limited WMD-related materials."

Speculation on WMDs in Syria was fueled by the fact that satellite images picked up long lines of trucks waiting to cross the border into Syria before the coalition launched the invasion. Mr. Duelfer previously had reported that Syria was a major conduit for materials entering Iraq that were banned by the United Nations.

Sounds like pretty solid evidence to me. What were the conveys carrying if not weapons of some sort? Portraits of Saddam Hussein? All that medicine he was hiding so he could blame the United States for the death of Iraqi babies?

Saddam placed such importance on illicit trade with Syria that he dispatched Iraqi Intelligence Service agents to various border crossings to supervise border agents, and, in some cases, to shoo them away, senior officials told The Washington Times last year.

Today, U.S. officials charge that Syria continues to harbor Saddam loyalists who are directing and financing the insurgency in Iraq. The Iraq-Syria relationship between two Ba'athist socialist regimes has further encouraged speculation of weapons transfers.

This is enough right here that I think we should put some serious pressure on Syria. Let’s not let their withdrawal from Lebanon deflect attention from the fact that Syria is still a major security risk. Give up the Baathists and any weaponry now, Syria.

Several senior U.S. officials have said since the invasion that they thought WMD went to Syria.

Retired Marine Lt. Gen. Michael DeLong, the deputy commander of U.S. Central Command during the war, said in his book, "Inside CentCom," that intelligence reports pointed to WMD movement into Syria.

In October, John A. Shaw, then the deputy undersecretary of defense for international technology security, told The Times that Russian special forces and intelligence troops worked with Saddam's intelligence service to move weapons and material to Syria, Lebanon and possibly Iran.

"The organized effort was done in advance of the conflict," he said.

I think the WMD thing is a bit of a red herring--but I wouldn't be surprised if they exist. Seriously, we went into Iraq because Saddam Hussein was a horribile dictator who was a long-term security risk to us and our allies. That's justification enough for me.

Syrian soldiers leave Lebanon - April 27, 2005

MASNAA, Lebanon -- Syria ended its nearly 30-year occupation of Lebanon yesterday, pulling its last 250 soldiers across the border after an upbeat ceremony that glossed over the tensions between the two neighbors.

WAHOO!!!

"We sacrifice our blood and souls for you, Bashar," went the chant in support of Syrian President Bashar Assad, whose likeness was posted all over the vehicles.

Jon Stewart had someone on the other night (a scholar of Islam whose name I cannot recall) who argued that it is a clash within Islam and not a clash of civilizations. He was very convincing but reading this paragraph really drives home the point that even if there is a battle for the soul of Islam, there is a fundamental difference between the West and Islamic civilization as it now exists. Could you imaging US troops chanting, “We sacrifice our blood and souls for you, Bush?” Our troops sacrifice their blood for the people of the United States—and their souls are their own. That is the fundamental difference between even “moderate” fanatics and a free people.

[A State Department spokesman] said it was premature to speculate on whether the move would improve rocky U.S.-Syrian relations and said no decision had been made on the return to Damascus of U.S. Ambassador Margaret Scobey, who was recalled to Washington for consultations in mid-February to express U.S. unhappiness with Syria.

Given the other article, I don’t think we should send her back in anytime soon. We'll resume diplomatic ties when they stop harboring and funding Baathist thugs and turn over any illegal weapons.

Even before Mr. Hariri's death, Syria was ordered in a U.N. resolution to withdraw from Lebanon.

‘Cause we all know how effective THAT is. Seriously, is there any doubt that the US invasion of Iraq, coupled with stepped up Lebanese resistance, is what drove this?