from: http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0415war-syria15.html

U.S. warns Syria, threatens strong sanctions

Wire services
Apr. 15, 2003 12:00 AM

WASHINGTON - With military victory assured in Iraq, the Bush administration threatened economic sanctions Monday against neighboring Syria, charging the regime of President Bashar Assad with sheltering Iraqi leaders, developing chemical weapons and supporting terrorism.

As the Pentagon on Monday declared that major combat operations in Iraq were over after U.S. forces took control of Tikrit, the Bush administration moved to use its new Middle East leverage against a country with which it has long had troubled relations.

A chorus of top administration officials complained that Syria was developing chemical weapons and was allowing enemy fighters to strike U.S. forces in Iraq.

White House officials refused to rule out the possibility of military action against Damascus.

"I think 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; they should think seriously about their program to develop and to have chemical weapons," White House press secretary Ari Fleischer said. "I think it's time to think through where they want their place to be in the world."

Syrian officials vigorously denied they were harboring Iraqi officials and rebuffed Washington's claims that Syria possesses chemical weapons.

Secretary of State Colin Powell became the first U.S. official to raise the possibility of diplomatic and economic sanctions against Syria.

In response, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan warned that "the recent statements directed at Syria should not contribute to a wider destabilization in a region already affected heavily by the war in Iraq."

Annan said that "any claim of threats to international peace and security should be addressed in conformity with the provisions" of the U.N. charter.

At the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said the Syrian government has tested chemical weapons within the past year.

Dozens of senior Iraqi leaders have vanished as U.S. troops have advanced, and at least one member of Saddam Hussein's inner circle was captured on his way to Syria, which does not require visas from citizens of Arab nations. "We are told the border is closed, but as you know, it is a rather porous border," Powell said Monday.

Rumsfeld on Monday reiterated earlier complaints that Syria is allowing traffic to flow in the opposite direction, letting Syrian opponents of the war take up arms alongside dwindling Iraqi troops. "We have intelligence that shows that Syria has allowed Syrians and others to come across the border into Iraq, people armed and people carrying leaflets indicating that they'll be rewarded if they kill Americans and members of the coalition," Rumsfeld said.

In confronting Syria directly, White House officials walked a delicate strategic line. They refused to rule out military action, a move apparently designed to pressure Syria to cooperate, but also risked further aggravating relations with countries in the region opposed to the war in Iraq.

At the same time, some analysts said the administration is seeking to achieve a longer term goal: persuading Syria to back away from supporting Hamas and Hezbollah, two groups the Israeli government maintains are a threat to its security.

British officials were clearer in their intent, ruling out the possibility of attacking Syria. Prime Minister Tony Blair said "there are no plans whatever to invade Syria," comments repeated by British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw.

When asked for proof Monday that Syria is working on weapons of mass destruction, Fleischer read from a CIA report to Congress last year about the "acquisition of technology relating to weapons of mass destruction and advanced conventional munitions."

"Syria sought CW (chemical weapon) related precursors and expertise from foreign sources during the reporting period. Damascus already held a stockpile of the nerve agent sarin, but apparently is trying to develop more toxic and persistent nerve agents," the report said.

Syria has long had a complicated relationship with the United States. It worked with the United States in the 1991 Persian Gulf War and voted in favor of last year's U.N. resolution reinstating weapons inspections in Iraq.

After Sept. 11, 2001, U.S. officials credited Syria with providing intelligence for its campaign against al-Qaida. That's one of the reasons the Bush administration last year opposed a bill that would have imposed sanctions on Syria unless it stopped supporting militant groups and withdrew troops from Lebanon.

Yet Syria has been on the State Department's list of terrorist-sponsoring states for more than 20 years.

According to the State Department, there is no evidence that Syria has been involved in planning or executing a terrorist attack since 1986. But its support for Hezbollah and Hamas, and its broad control over Lebanon, have made Syria a deep concern for Israel and, by extension, for the Bush administration.