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jinelson
11-29-06, 11:02 AM
Assad: Syria to Challenge U.S. Efforts

By SALAH NASRAWI, Associated Press Writer

Wednesday, November 29, 2006 08 14 AM

(11-29) 08:14 PST DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) --

Syrian President Bashar Assad said Wednesday his country will continue to challenge U.S. efforts to exert control over the Middle East, sounding a defiant tone ahead of President Bush's arrival in the region for talks on Iraq.

"Colonialism has not ended. In the past they used to call it colonialism, today it is called liberation of people. ... Names differ but the essence is the same. As colonialism continues, revolution and resistance continue," Syrian official media quoted Assad as saying.

Bush was expected to arrive later Wednesday in Jordan for a summit with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in a fresh attempt to put an end to violence in Iraq.

Washington is debating whether the Bush administration should engage Syria and also Iran — two countries it regards as pariah states that work to destabilize the entire Middle East. Some claim Syria could use its control over Iraq's most porous border to alleviate insurrection against the U.S. occupation, and ongoing civil conflict between Shiites and Sunnis in Iraq.

On Tuesday, U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan also suggested that Iran and Syria should work with the United States and the international community to resolve the conflict in Iraq.

But it remains unclear if Bush will agree to any such plan. He has spoken out harshly against both Syria and Iran in recent days, accusing them of meddling in both Iraq and Lebanon.

"The Iranians and the Syrians should help — not destabilize — this young democracy," he said on Tuesday, referring to Iraq.

Syria has expressed interest in talks with Washington, but has made it clear it will not make concessions on key issues such as Iraq, Lebanon or the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Assad has not publicly mentioned the recent reports that some in Washington are pushing for outreach to Syria. On Tuesday, he sounded even more resistant in a speech in the southern city of Sweida, although he did not refer directly to Bush.

"We send a message to everyone that Arabs are no longer a herd that can be sold, bought and taken to the slaughterhouse," he said, according to official media.

Syrian commentators also have been disdainful of any possible U.S. outreach effort.

"They always come back to knock at the door of Damascus," Mahdi Dakhlallah wrote in the government newspaper Tishrin on Wednesday.

"Nobody will thank them if they knock at Damascus' doors. They should thank this great people who support its leadership," the former information minister wrote.

Earlier this month, Syria restored full diplomatic relations with Iraq after a break of more than 20 years, boosting hopes of a regional deal to help U.S. troops withdraw from Iraq.

However, both Baghdad and Washington have accused Damascus of not doing enough to stop the flow of foreign Arab fighters over the border. They also say Syria is supporting the insurgency in Iraq by allowing loyalists of former dictator Saddam Hussein to take refuge in the country to organize financing and arms shipments.

Syrian officials have repeatedly denied the accusations and blame the spiraling violence on the nearly four-year U.S. military presence in Iraq.

Syria has never made a secret of its opposition to the Americans in Iraq and the government they have installed in Baghdad. The government-run Syrian media lavishly praise the insurgents, calling them resistance fighters.


by Assad - "We send a message to everyone that Arabs are no longer a herd that can be sold, bought and taken to the slaughterhouse," he said, according to official media.

I wonder if a few dozen well targeted nukes would change his position?

Jim

SuNmAN
11-29-06, 12:05 PM
a tomahawk cruise missile on their Presidential Palace will change that.

drumcorpssnare
11-29-06, 12:36 PM
I'd like ten minutes alone with Bashad Assad. I'd stab him to death with a tablespoon. I've never actually done anything like that before....but they say it makes a real mess.:banana:

SEMPER FI:usmc:
drumcorpssnare