The American military campaign, Syria, Iran and Iraq
Regional-USA, Politics, 12/18/2001

News reports in Washington said that Israel's supporters in the American administration want the US President George Bush to exert pressure on Syria in order to halt the activities of the groups supported by Iran by suspending the support of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund to the Syrian economy.

US Senator Joseph Lieberman told " Sunday News Fox " program that the next step for him is that in the context of the war carried out by the US against terrorist is to start pressuring Syria and Iran in order to stop support for Hamas and the Islamic Jihad and Hizbullah because of the role these sides play in the Arab- Israeli conflict.

But the US senator added that the war against terrorism should not be ended before toppling the Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

However, according to American officials and experts Iraq might be the next possible target and that the military act will not be the only step. They expected the American follow up efforts ( in its campaign) to include Sudan and Somalia and Yemen where al- Qaeda network and other armed men expected to be working there.

Meantime the American magazine " New Yorker " said that a high ranking American general told it that the opposition Iraqi national conference has given the US administration plans to launch a war against Saddam Hussein. This plan will include American bombardment and using of special forces for that, but the US secretary of state Colin Powell has postponed these plans for four or five months, noting that there are other pressure means without using the military force.

Patrick Clauson from Washington Institute for the Near East polices said that instead of the attempt to link Saddam Hussein to the attacks took place in the US on September 11, as certain American sides proposed, the US administration is currently concentrating on provoking the issue of the Iraqi mass destruction weapons.

Clauson added that Bush will concentrate on practicing pressure on Saddam so as to permit UN experts to inspect and investigate in the Iraqi weapons institutions. A strategy which will not last longer than next May when the UN will discuss changing the sanctions imposed on Iraq imposed since the end of the Gulf war in 1991.

He indicated that Washington has moved the headquarters of the American army, temporarily, to Kuwait and it is inspecting ships in the Gulf. Measures that are linked to the Afghani war but will make Saddam Hussein feel concerned.

Previous Stories:
  Arab League denounces the 'American' veto   (12/17/2001)
  Statements quoted by Bush against Syria and Lebanon denied   (12/17/2001)
  American targets after Afghanistan   (12/11/2001)

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