US: "Baathist Syria may come to an end"

["LouPaulsen" <LouPaulsen@xxxxxxxxx>]

http://www.observer.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,935943,00.html

Syria could be next, warns Washington

Ed Vulliamy in Washington
Sunday April 13, 2003
The Observer

The United States has pledged to tackle the Syrian-backed Hizbollah group in
the next phase of its 'war on terror' in a move which could threaten
military action against President Bashar Assad's regime in Damascus.

The move is part of Washington's efforts to persuade Israel to support a new
peace settlement with the Palestinians. Washington has promised Israel that
it will take 'all effective action' to cut off Syria's support for
Hizbollah - implying a military strike if necessary, sources in the Bush
administration have told The Observer .


[...]
'If you control Iraq, you can affect the Syrian and Iranian sponsorship of
Hizbollah, both geographically and politically,' says Ivo Daalder of the
Brookings Institution think-tank in Washington.

'The United States will make it very clear, quietly and publicly, that
Baathist Syria may come to an end if it does not stop its support of
Hizbollah.'