Pentagon not aware of any change in relationship with Syria
AFP
Date: 05-24-05
WASHINGTON (AFP) - The US Defense Department is not aware of any change in the US military's relationship with Syria, even though the Syrian ambassador to Washington said Damascus has severed all ties to the US military and the CIA.
"We are not aware of any, or haven't been informed of any, changes to the relationship," Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said Tuesday.
Syria's ambassador to Washington, Imad Moustapha, told the New York Times in an interview published Tuesday that his government has "severed all links" with the US military and the CIA because of what he said were unjust allegations against Syria.
A CIA spokesperson would not comment on the report, saying the agency did not discuss its relationships with foreign governments.
Senior US officials have complained bitterly about Syria's failure to stop Iraqi insurgents from using its territory to funnel money and foreign fighters into Iraq for attacks on US-led forces.
A senior US military official in Baghdad last week charged that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the top Al-Qaeda leader in Iraq, met with top lieutenants in Syria recently and ordered them to step up car bombings in Iraq.
General John Abizaid, the commander of US forces in the Middle East, said in Washington the same day that Syria was not doing enough against insurgents operating on its territory.
"It's very important that the Syrian government do everything within its power to keep violence from migrating or being planned in Syria into Iraq," he told reporters.
The US military has maintained contacts with low-level Syrian officers along the Iraqi border to prevent clashes between the two forces.
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