- WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The
United States ratcheted up the pressure on Syria on Monday by threatening
sanctions over charges that Damascus is harboring Iraqi leaders, developing
chemical weapons and supporting terrorism.
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- "Syria is indeed a rogue nation," said White
House spokesman Ari Fleischer.
-
- U.S. officials stopped short of threatening to extend
the Iraq war to Syria. But Secretary of State Colin Powell said there was
a "new environment" in the region and the United States will
examine "diplomatic and economic" measures against Syria.
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- Syria on Monday denied it had chemical weapons or that
it has cooperated with Iraq, and said it has shut down its border with
Iraq. But U.S. officials say the border is porous and Syria should not
give safe haven to any Iraqis who flee there.
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- With Saddam Hussein toppled, Washington has directed
its ire toward Syria, based on what U.S. officials said were indications
that some leaders from Iraq's former government and family members of Saddam
have escaped across the border into Syria -- with Damascus' assent.
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- "Syria needs to cooperate. A new dawn is emerging
for the Iraqi people, the dawn of freedom, and I think Syria needs to think
about its responsibilities to the Iraqi people when it comes to their behavior,"
Fleischer said.
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- The United States also renewed charges that Syria supports
terrorist activity. Syria remains on the State Department's list of states
that sponsor international terrorism for backing the anti-Israeli militant
groups Hamas and Hizbollah.
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- Powell, speaking to reporters after meeting Kuwait's
foreign minister, said it was hoped that all nations in the region will
review past practices and behavior.
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- "In light of this new environment they (Syria) 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," Powell said.
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- Syria, which voted in favor of the U.N. Security Council
resolution last November demanding Iraq disarm itself of weapons of mass
destruction, now finds itself accused by Washington of attempting to develop
the same weapons.
-
- Speaking to reporters, Fleischer read from a CIA report
to Congress for January-June last year on the "acquisition of technology
relating to weapons of mass destruction and advanced conventional munitions."
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- "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.
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- Asked why the Bush administration was raising the weapons
of mass destruction charge on Syria now, when it had not over the last
six months, Fleischer said: "It's a relevant fact."
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- Israel has long charged that Syria, the main power broker
in Lebanon, served as a conduit for Iranian arms shipments to Hizbollah,
including long-range surface-to-surface missiles.
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