Powell Warns Syria And Iran
Secretary of State Colin Powell says Iran must stop its drive for weapons of mass destruction and Syria must end its support for terrorism.
In a strongly worded speech to a pro-Israel lobby, Powell bracketed Iran and Syria with Iraq as promoters of terrorism and suggested they faced grave consequences.
His tough words matched those last week of Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and served to signal unity within the Bush administration on the anti-terror front.
Both Iran and Syria have shown no inclination to bend to the Bush administration's growing rhetorical campaign against them.
Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Sharaa said Sunday that "Syria has a national interest in the expulsion of the invaders from Iraq."
"It is now time for the entire international community to step up and insist that Iran end its support for terrorists," Powell said. "Syria can continue direct support for terrorist groups in the dying regime of Saddam Hussein or it can embark on a different and more hopeful course."
CBS News Correspondent Charles Wolfson reports Powell said either way, Syria bears responsibility for its choice and for its consequences. The secretary of state spoke at the 44th annual policy conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
Rumsfeld on Friday accused Syria of supplying military technology to Iraq, a charge Syria denied. He also said the United States would hold Iran responsible for the entrance of Iran-sponsored forces into Iraq.
Of the war in Iraq, he said "let there be no doubt of the outcome. We will drive Saddam Hussein and his regime from power."
And Powell said, to wide applause from the heavily Jewish audience, "we will keep his weapons of mass destruction from the Middle East."
Powell was the latest administration office to step into a growing debate, reports CBS News Correspondent Tom Foty. The former chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff in the Persian Gulf War in 1991 endorsed the Bush administration's current war plan, which has encountered some criticism as the drive against Saddam has slowed.
"I have total confidence in the plan and total confidence in General (Tommy) Franks and those carrying out the plan," he said. ""Baghdad is slowly being encircled. Pockets of resistance are being isolated. The oilfields are secure. Humanitarian aid is beginning to flow."
Powell also vowed an unflinching pursuit of al Qaeda terrorists all over the world. "Let there be no doubt, we will pursue al Qaeda wherever they are," he said.
He said President Bush's Middle East peace plan, the so-called "road map," will require concessions from both Israeli and Palestinian leaders. Palestinians must end their use of terrorism as a political weapon, he said, and continued Israeli settlement activity was inconsistent with President Bush's goals.
That drew a mixed response of mild applause and a few boos.
He renewed the Bush administration's support for establishment of a Palestinian state by the end of 2005, and said the drive would be stepped up once Mahmoud Abbas was confirmed as prime minister.
The longtime lieutenant of Yasser Arafat has at times spoken in support of all measures against Israel and at other times appeared critical of attacks on civilians.
On Sunday he met with leaders of the militant Hamas group, and representatives of the militant Popular Front group and the Iraq-backed Arab Liberation Front.
Powell, urging Israel to make peace with the Palestinian Authority, said "Israel's security requires peace with its neighbors."
Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom followed Powell's speech with his own condemnation of Iran as a sponsor of terrorism. He said Iran was behind the bloody attacks in 1992 on the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires and in 1994 on a Jewish center in capital of Argentina.
"We will work closely with the United States to oppose terror," the minister said.
On the conflict with the Palestinians, Shalom was cautious. "We need a true Palestinian partner, one who will stop the violence once and for all," he said.