Powell: No military plans against Syria; Tlass: US accusations are fabrications
Syria-USA, Politics, 7/4/2003

The US Secretary of State Colin Powell announced that Washington will not launch military operations against Syria and Iran, who are accused by Washington of supporting the Palestinian resistance groups at a time when the Syrian defense minister Lt. Gen. Mustafa Tlass rejected the American threats against his country on accusations of having mass destruction weapons and of sheltering former Iraqi officials and terrorism organizations, describing these accusations as fabrications.

In a program broadcast by Washington radio, Powell said that the US will not attack Syria and Iran militarily. He said replying to a question on the way the US will deal with Iran and Syria that "there are means of dealing with these two countries that do not require a military action."

For his part, the Syrian defense minister announced that the American accusations against Syria of having mass destruction weapons and sheltering former Iraqi officials and terrorist organizations are "baseless fabrications." The Syrian official news agency SANA said that Tlass's statements came in the context of a speech he read on behalf of President Bashar al-Assad on the occasion of graduating a new shift of the political guidance cadets at the military political academy.

SANA quoted Tlass as saying "They ( the Americans) have started accusations against Syria, and made threats related to sheltering certain figures of the former Iraqi regime, at one time, and at other times, of having banned nuclear weapons, and on a third time of supporting terrorist organizations, in addition to other fabrications, which are all lacking authenticity and credibility."

Previous Stories:
  Al- Shara's interview with al-Jazira TV on regional issues, the USA   (7/2/2003)
  Syrian soldiers freed by US   (7/1/2003)
  Washington: Syria's wounded soldiers are not war prisoners, will return soon   (6/28/2003)

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