Syria Criticizes U.S. Warship Deployment

Officials Say Warships Off Lebanese Coast Are Sign Of Washington Trying To Impose Its Will

(CBS)  Syria ridiculed Saturday Washington's dispatch of the USS Cole and two other vessels to waters off Lebanon as a "losing bet," and said Washington was unable to impose its solution to Lebanon's long-running political crisis by force, reports CBS News producer George Baghdadi in Damascus.

"There is a history of U.S. interventions in Lebanon. I think all those experiments were totally useless. I would tell those Lebanese who are betting on U.S. show of strength force that this is a losing bet. America cannot impose a solution in Lebanon as it sees it," Syrian Foreign Minister Waleed Moallem told reporters in the first official reaction to the U.S. move.

"The only solution comes within the framework of the Arab initiative … and Lebanese consensus," said Moallem, who was speaking at a joint press conference with Arab League chief Amr Moussa.

Moussa was in Damascus Saturday to discuss with Syrian officials the Lebanese crisis, as well as an Arab summit to be held in Damascus at the end of this month.

No invitations were reported to have been sent to Saudi Arabia and Lebanon by midnight Friday, the deadline for receiving invitations, as Egypt was also threatening to boycott the gathering.

The deployment of three ships appeared to be aimed at making an American show of strength at a time of increasing international frustration at the volatile political deadlock in Lebanon between the U.S.-backed government of Prime Minister Fuad Saniora and the Syria and Iran-backed opposition, led by Hezbollah.

The government and opposition in Lebanon have been locked in a 15-month power struggle, with Hezbollah and its allies trying to force out Saniora's administration. The deadlock has prevented the country from electing a president since November, leaving the post empty in a dangerous power vacuum.

The United States - along with anti-Syrian politicians in Lebanon - accuses Damascus of trying to re-impose its control in Lebanon.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is to visit the Middle East next week.

"In fact, the policy of this U.S. Administration in Lebanon, Afghanistan and Iraq has proved to be wring. That is why no one can predict what the intentions of the U.S. Administration are. We judge on acts and I would say that such a show of force will have no avail and will not lead, as they claim, to stability," Muallem said in reply to a question to our Damascus correspondent.

"Such a show is absolutely against the stability of the region," he said adding that the presence of the warship "reinforces what we have been saying - that America is obstructing proposed political solutions in Lebanon."

Among those solutions, he said, was an Arab initiative which Moussa has been trying for weeks to market among feuding parties in Lebanon.

"America, by sending this warship, is sending an important message to the secretary general (Moussa) and the Arab League," al-Moallem said, without elaborating.

The state-run Tishrin newspaper also labeled the American deployment of warships off the coast of Lebanon as "unacceptable."

Ibrahim Al-Daraji, International Law Professor at Damascus University, suggested that some reactions to the U.S. move were extremely exaggerated.

"I think the move has no military dimensions, it is no more than a political message," he told CBS in a telephone conversation.

"This is a signal of U.S. political and diplomatic bankruptcy. The Americans have tried almost everything to pressure Syria but with no avail. They have tried siege, isolation, economic sanctions - such as a recent presidential executive order allowing sanctions against Syrian officials meddling in Lebanon and a member of Assad's family - and they couldn't yield Damascus," he added.

He said the deployment of U.S. warships off the coast of Lebanon was only meant to say that the Americans want to impose their own solution in Lebanon.

"But, militarily speaking, the USS Cole, which was hit in Yemen a few years ago, cannot do a way by its own. We need to watch a military buildup as we did see before the war in Iraq," he said.

[dogband]

Most excellent response, last reader asked what would we do if another country was conducting war games off our Floridian coast?

Bush: sabre rattling, warmonger with the best of them.

[quetzal0666]

What would the U.S. do if Venezuelas navy was conducting war games off the coast of Florida?
Nothing?

[beehive21-2009]

Here we go again all the arabs roared with pleasure when the twin tower fell,you saw it on TV ,don''t forget, yes, all arabs are your enemy, they are evil and need to pray five times a day. You must die, unless your like them." I guess - and I''''m just applying your rules here - that gives all Iraqis the right to attack Americans.

Or does it? They all do, turn your back in they shall stab you in the name of a faity tale.

[telecom_1]

Hamas is a lot like Hezbolah--The terrorist leader of the rebel militants Hezbolah, lied when he said , that he was sending 50 thousand militants to the Israeli borer. Hezbolah doesnt even have 50 thousand men to send. Terrorists are liars, you cannot negotiate with terrorists because they lie, lie, lie and think it''''s alright to lie. The proxy army of Syria and Iran (Hezbolah) is determined to destroy Lebanon as a suicide attack on Israel. Hopefully the good people of Lebanon can remove this cancerous disease called Hezbolah from their midst before it destroys the nation of Lebanon.

[grazinggoat]

The stark reality is the Leaders of the Arab nation''''s of the Middle East are liars do not condon murder and bombing as a method to solve their issues with Israel and the World. They sent their flunkies like Hamas and Hizbellah and brother terrorist factions to do their dirty work and have given not one concrete tangible believable concession toward a Peace co existence process with Israel.
Posted by imf61a at 07:25 AM : Mar 02, 2008

- Wow! what a positive input. You only forget the following: 935 documented lies by your Saint GWalking-Liar Bush.

-Stop defending Israel while accusing the Arabs. The ''by way of deception'' has been taken as a motto for Israel''s secrete service (Mossad).

-Want more of the above?

-Let the United Nations be warrantors of the Peace deal that will only come out from the belligerant parties. Only a local solution will make it to the top. As soon as foreign power brokers step out of the process. The locals will go to the UN with a solution to make it approved.

[wolf563]

According to IRAN there has never been a SHOAH .

[truthspeake2]

Posted by terrorislama at 06:02 AM : Mar 02, 2008

...is that you Bill?

LOL

[imf61a]

The invasion of Iraq was bungled and the reason were found to be wanting since the Iraqis are finding amongst each for the right to rule thru violence.We also must remember that Israel is the only country in the Middle East where you can sit down and discuss a resolution with a chance for an agreeable Peaceful co existence type solution. There have been many opinions given by the US Presidential candidates, Mr Bush etc.
The stark reality is the Leaders of the Arab nation''s of the Middle East are liars do not condon murder and bombing as a method to solve their issues with Israel and the World. They sent their flunkies like Hamas and Hizbellah and brother terrorist factions to do their dirty work and have given not one concrete tangible believable concession toward a Peace co existence process with Israel. Is there solid evidence if the Palestinians got a piece of land for a state. They will not become a base for terrorism against Israel. Please
prove that the poverty and downtrodden life style of Arab people is caused by Israel and not but by the constant violent acts of the leaders of the Arab world in the Middle East. That causes Israel to enforce stoppages of electricity to Gaza etc. and yet the Palestinians of Gaza manage to do their violence and survive. The US must realize the Main source of terrorism starts with the Middle East Arab Nations.

[nowarforzion]

Iran/Syria into the war after "shoah" attacks on Gaza & Lebanon (be sure to take a look at the comments at the bottom of the following URL)

http://www.wakeupfromyourslumber.com/node/5890

Watch the youtube video of the C-SPAN ''Washington Journal'' call which mentioned the ''A Clean Break'' via the following URL:

''A Clean Break''/war for Israel:

http://neoconzionistthreat.blogspot.com/2008/02/clean-break.html


Leave Lebanon Now - Saudi Embassy SMS message to nationals

http://www.wakeupfromyourslumber.com/node/5901

http://NEOCONZIONISTTHREAT.BLOGSPOT.COM

http://NOMOREWARFORISRAEL.BLOGSPOT.COM

beehive21 wrote:

"We the people of the USA have the right to kick you *** if need be, get it.You arabs should not have knocked down the Twin Towers ,now you must pay. "Why are we wasting money on this useless deployments? I can''''''''t give a rat a$$ on syria or lebanon let them go to war." this is unamerican BS"

Maybe you should take your anger and direct it at GW Bush and the rest of his family who continued to have business dealings with the "arabs".

Also, I don''t recall any of the hijackers coming from Syria - most of them came from Saudi Arabia.

But we didn''t invade Saudi Arabia - we invaded another country that hadn''t declared war on us.

I guess - and I''m just applying your rules here - that gives all Iraqis the right to attack Americans.

Or does it?