Turkmani calls for preparedness to repel any likely Israeli aggression
Syria-Israel, Politics, 10/17/2003

Syria yesterday stressed readiness to answer any likely Israeli aggression against it, and it called its armed forces to keep utmost state of readiness and preparedness.

In remark to the US Congressional Syria Accountability Act, which was approved by the American house of representatives by a great majority on Wednesday, Syria said that the American pressure will not affect its police, rather will be damaging for the American interests before anybody else's.

Syrian army chief of staff Lt. Gem. Hassan Turkmani urged in a speech he read on behalf of President Bashar al-Assad to the members of the Syrian armed forces on the occasion of the 57th anniversary of the air forces and air defense day all the Syrian forces to be on a state of alert to retaliate any likely Israeli aggression.

The Syrian official new Agency SANA quoted Turkmani as calling on his fighters "to continue working day and night and to keep the highest state of preparedness and caution to retaliate any likely aggression by the government (of the Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon) which suffers several internal crises trying to export them by provoking Syria."

Turkmani indicated the graveness of the current phase "the Arab nation is witnessing and "threats hatched against Syria with the aim to pressure it and subjecting it to the will of the American administration and Israel." He stressed that these pressures "will be futile and will not be able to avert Syria's principled policy and this what President Bashar al-Assad expressed in his recent statement to the London- based al-Hayat daily when he said "we are not a greater state, but not a weak one. we are not a country without cards. we are not a country without base. we are not a country that can be ignored in debated issues."

For its part, the Syrian foreign ministry confined to committing briefly on the decision of the American house of representatives and considered the "American position as just another procedural plan and that Damascus's views was clarified in earlier statements including what was stated by the foreign relations department spokeswoman at the foreign ministry Bushra Kanafani in her recent press conference.

Previous Stories:
  Demonstrations in the Galilee against the strike on Syria   (10/11/2003)
  Continued denunciations of the Israeli strike against Syria   (10/8/2003)
  Just peace in ME should be based on Madrid terms of reference, minister   (10/8/2003)

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