Rice Broadens Indictment of Syria
AP
Date: 05-20-05
By BARRY SCHWEID, AP Diplomatic Writer
WASHINGTON - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Friday broadened U.S. accusations that Syria was contributing to violent insurgencies in Iraq.
After a meeting with Iraq's planning minister, Barham Salih, Rice again accused Syria of supporting terror. To that, she added an allegation that Syria may also be providing financial support for insurgents as well as "allowing its territory to be used to organize terrorist attacks against innocent Iraqis."
Moreover, Rice said, Syria was supporting Palestinians trying to undercut cooperation with Israel on a projected withdrawal from Gaza.
For months, the State Department has complained that Syria was not guarding its borders to prevent infiltration of fighters into Iraq. "We are concerned in particular about Syrian behavior on its own border," she said Friday.
"This is a historic but difficult time, and neighbors must do everything that they can to support the process in Iraq," she said at a joint news conference with Salih.
At the same time, Rice said the Bush administration would do "anything that we can" to support the Iraqi government.
But she stressed that the United States was restricted to a supportive role since Iraq had a sovereign and democratically elected government.
Rice went to Iraq last weekend and her deputy, Robert Zoellick, has been there twice recently.
But Rice dismissed any suggestion the United States was taking a more hands-on approach in the affairs of the frail Iraqi government and deepening U.S. involvement in running the country.
"These are decisions that Iraqis are taking," Rice said, "and I want to be very clear that this is an Iraqi process."
Salih, meanwhile, said "undeniably, we have a challenging transition" from a country that long lacked democracy and freedom.
"Possibly, one has to accept that there are difficulties in this transition," he said.
But he said "it pales in comparison to what we had to endure under the tyranny of Saddam Hussein."
Salih, a Kurdish leader and a favorite of the United States, said Saddam may be about to be placed on trial after 17 months in detention.
The minister said the chief justice of the special tribunal in charge of prosecution in Baghdad had told him that "within the next few months Saddam Hussein could be brought before the court."
After a long search, U.S. forces captured Saddam in December 2003 hiding in a concealed hole in the ground near his hometown of Tikrit, 80 miles north of Baghdad.
Source
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