- WASHINGTON [MENL] -- The
Bush administration has drafted contingency plans meant to increase military
pressure on Syria.
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- Officials said that after two years of debate the White
House has ordered a range of U.S. options against the regime of Syrian
President Bashar Assad. They said the administration has determined that
diplomacy failed to resolve U.S. concerns regarding Syrian policy on such
issues as Iraq, weapons of mass destruction, Lebanon and support for groups
deemed terrorist.
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- The administration has concluded that Syria has been
working to destabilize the interim government in Iraq, officials said.
They said the Assad regime has been harboring senior operatives of Abu
Mussib Al Zarqawi, regarded as the most lethal insurgent in Iraq, aides
to Saddam Hussein as well as Iraqi nuclear scientists as part of a Syrian
policy coordinated with Iran.
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- Officials warned that unless Syria changes its policy
within the next few weeks, the administration would consider economic and
military measures against Damascus that would intensify in 2005. They said
the Defense Department has drafted a range of military options meant to
put Damascus on the defensive and encourage insurrection within Syria.
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- http://www.menewsline.com/stories/2004/september/09_29_1.html
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