Syria is against the war, and has been vocal about it. If I were Syria I'd say "F-U Rumsfeld, you ditch all of your allies and we'll go away."
I mean, I support my country and all but what kind of an idiot amasses his allies to fight a war and expects the other side not to do the same? It reminds me of an article in The Onion to the tune of "Bush Warns Iraqi Army Not to Fight Back." LoL.
Here's the frightening thing: we can't get in a wrangle with Syria. If we do, we will see a domino effect. It will simply be Muslim nations versus non-Muslim nations in the Crusades 2003, brought to you by PepsiCo and Budweiser with limited commercial interruption. Seriously, though, we start it up with Syria all of a sudden WWIII looms on the horizon. With Turkey being the first big concern as a "flippable" ally.
This part is especially frightening:
Quote:
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In Pakistan some clerics called on worshipers during Friday prayers to take up arms against the coalition partners in Iraq."We should revive the spirit of jihad to defend Iraqi Muslims against U.S. aggression," said Mohammed Abdul Aziz, prayer leader at Islamabad's main Red Mosque. Muslims, he added, "always fight against their numerically superior enemy."
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This part frightens me for two reasons: (1) the obvious - see my WWIII comment above; and (2) it shows how absolutely deplorable math and counting skills are in the Muslim world. To wit, the US/UK, et al, have about 160K troops on the ground, whereas the Iraqi army has about that many in just Republican Guard and nut-job Fedayeen. In short, we have been fighting a war for the past 8 days where our side is outnumbered 10:1 or more.
Anyway, enjoy the article, from today's NY Times:
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Rumsfeld Warns Syria Against Providing Military Aid to Iraq
By JOEL BRINKLEY
WASHINGTON, March 28 — Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld accused Syria today of shipping sophisticated military equipment including night-vision goggles to the Iraqi military and called the shipments "hostile acts."
He added that the United States would hold the Syrian government accountable, though he would not say what might be done.
His remarks came during a wide-ranging news briefing in which he alternately berated the regime of Saddam Hussein for brutality and criticized news media coverage of the war, calling it inconsistent and "breathless," a major theme of the Bush administration's remarks today.
Ari Fleischer, the White House spokesman, said, "The American people should be prepared for something that is long, lengthy and dangerous." His remarks, and similar statements by other officials, were part of the government's continuing effort to recalibrate public perceptions of the war as coalition troops face persistent and aggressive Iraqi forces.
Lt. Gen. William Wallace, speaking to reporters on Thursday in central Iraq, said, "The enemy we are fighting is a bit different than the one we war gamed against." All day today, military and political officials in Washington have been trying to play down what General Wallace said without directly criticizing him.
Asked about the general's remarks, Mr. Rumsfeld said, "I suppose everyone could have their own view."
Tony Blair, the British Prime Minister, asserted that he was not surprised by the turn of events on the battlefield.
"I think what we expected is what we got, which is that there will be fierce resistance from those people loyal" to Saddam Hussein, the Iraqi leader. They "owe their existence to his regime," Mr. Blair added.
But Mr. Blair also voiced frustration with the continual questioning, primarily from the news media, about the war's progress — a view that several senior officials in Washington also expressed. This morning, one senior administration official told reporters that he viewed discussion of the war's progress and duration in the news media as "silly."
Mr. Blair said, "You get speculations about how long it's going to take, and you're asked the question continually. And if you don't say it's going to be over within the next few days, people say its going to take months" and "speculate about the number of casualties.
"We're barely a week into the campaign," he added with a hint of pique.
Thus far, officials said today, 26 Americans have been killed in Iraq or Kuwait and 17 are missing or prisoners of war. Twenty British have been killed and 2 are missing.
Mr. Rumsfeld declined to say whether he believed the Syrian government was aware of the shipments of military equipment to the Iraqis, calling it an "intelligence issue. But he added: "They control their border. We're hoping that kind of thing doesn't happen.
"There's no question but that to the extent that military supplies or equipment or people are moving across the borders between Iraq and Syria, it vastly complicates our situation."
American military officials have said they believe their night vision equipment gives them a clear advantage over the Iraqis.
Syria has been an outspoken opponent of the war and its president, Bashar Assad, has described it as "clear occupation and a flagrant aggression against a United Nations member state."
Several of the war's opponents continued battering the coalition today, saying they were even more troubled now that it is becoming clear that the conflict will protracted.
"The military operation is becoming bitter and long drawn out," President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia said today. "This threatens to shake the very basis of global stability and international rights."
In Paris today, a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry said reports of Dominique de Villepin's remarks in which he declined to say who he hoped would win the war "are stoking anti-French sentiment" and insisted that France hopes for a United States victory.
Scattered protests continued around the world today, as they do almost every day. In Pakistan some clerics called on worshipers during Friday prayers to take up arms against the coalition partners in Iraq.
"We should revive the spirit of jihad to defend Iraqi Muslims against U.S. aggression," said Mohammed Abdul Aziz, prayer leader at Islamabad's main Red Mosque. Muslims, he added, "always fight against their numerically superior enemy."