As long as we have all that nice equipment, and all those
nice soldiers there, already—what the heck? Why not use it on Syria and a few other terrorist nations while
we are there??? It’s so much more economical than making return trips!
And my Mom always said, “A stitch in
time saves nine.” J Iz
-----Original Message-----
From:
[EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Terry Clifton
Sent: Friday, April 04, 2003 1:26
PM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Re: [TruthTalk] Blair
Says U.S. Has No Plans to Attack Syria, Iran
This is good news. Let's hope Tony is right.
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Friday,
April 04, 2003 11:43 AM
Subject: [TruthTalk]
Blair Says U.S. Has No Plans to Attack Syria, Iran
Reuters
Friday, April 4, 2003; 11:11 AM
LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Tony Blair said Friday the United States
had absolutely no plans to attack Syria and Iran, which have been warned by
Washington over their alleged involvement in Iraq.
In an interview with the Arabic service of BBC World Service Radio, Blair also
said it was every bit as important to make progress in resolving the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict as it was to oust Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.
Last week, Washington accused Syria of allowing shipments of military equipment
to cross the border into Iraq in defiance of a U.S. warning. It also said it
was concerned by the presence inside Iraq of hundreds of Iraqi Shiite Muslim
forces, trained and financed by the Iranians.
The warnings sparked fears the U.S.-led war in Iraq might spread to other
countries in the Middle East, but Blair said those fears were unfounded.
"There is no question of 'who next?' We are in Iraq for a particular
reason," Blair said. "This is not a war against Iraq, it is a war
against Saddam.
"They (the Americans) have got absolutely no plans to attack those two
countries. What they were saying is that it is important that neither country
assist those forces loyal to Saddam."
He told people to stop "looking for conspiracy theories -- Iraq one day
and a whole series of countries the next."
Asked if he had enough influence in Washington to curb any move to attack Syria
and Iran, Blair -- Washington's closest ally in its self-declared war on terror
-- repeated his assurance to the Arab world.
"I know of absolutely no plan to do that," he said.
"There are concerns about support for terrorism in certain of these
countries, that is true. But I have always thought we can try and deal with
these issues in a different way."
Blair has made strenuous efforts to develop ties with Syrian President Bashar
al-Assad, believing he is a crucial figure if the Middle East peace process is
to be revived.
Blair has visited Damascus and hosted Assad in London in an attempt to build
bridges while Foreign Secretary Jack Straw has visited Tehran three times.
The prime minister said the Iraqi war was inextricably linked with the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
"I think what we need to do is look at this in two dimensions," he
said. "The first is the issue of Iraq. ... The second dimension however is
to bring greater stability to the Middle East.
"My own judgment is that the single most important thing we can do is to
bring some hope to the situation between Israel and Palestine.
"I believe it is every bit as important that we make progress on that as
we get rid of Saddam."
