Syrian ambassador promises military response to attacks

[bigpoppanils]

Syrian ambassador promises military response to further attacks

Agencies

Wednesday October 8, 2003

A Syrian ambassador today said that his country would respond with military action if Israel carried out any more attacks on Syrian territory.

Mohsen Bilal, Syria's ambassador to Spain, told Reuters: "If Israel attacks Syria one, two and three times, of course the people of Syria and the government of Syria and the army will react to defend ourselves."

"If Israel continues to attack us ... of course we shall react to the attacks in spite of the fact that we are fighting for peace."

Israel today dismissed the threat, saying that it did not seek an escalation of tensions with Syria.

"This sort of statement is intended mainly for the Arab world, to give the impression Syria is steadfast in the fight against Israel," a senior Israeli security source said.

"Israel does not seek an escalation with Syria, and indeed has taken precautions to prevent that. We will act in self defence if necessary, but not if Damascus receives our message that it must stop supporting terror," the source said.

Mr Bilal's comments appeared to contradict the words of the Syrian president, Bashar Assad, who yesterday told the pan-Arab newspaper, Al-Hayat, that his government would not allow the attack to provoke a war between Syria and its rival, Israel.

"This attack was an attempt by the Israeli government to extract itself from its internal crisis by trying to terrorise Syria and drag it and the region into other wars," he said, adding that his regime would not yield to Israeli and US demands that it expel Palestinian groups from Syria.

The Israeli attack has put Mr Assad in a difficult position domestically. He is seeking a face-saving exit to avoid criticism that his army of more than 300,000 is unable to retaliate for Sunday's airstrike.

The strike hit what Israel maintained was a training camp for Islamic Jihad militants, about 15 miles from Damascus. Villagers said the camp belonged to Palestinian militants but had been abandoned years ago.

The attack came in response to the previous day's suicide bombing in Haifa, northern Israel, that killed at least 19 people. The Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack.

Following the Israeli airstrike, the first attack deep into Syrian territory since the 1973 war, Syria presented a motion to the UN security council calling on the world body to condemn Israel, but the council postponed a vote.

The United States warned it would veto any motion that did not also condemn the suicide bombing, and later defended Israel's action against Syria.

The US president, George Bush, drew a parallel between Israel's actions and the US war on terrorism, saying that "we would be doing the same thing ... but we're also mindful when we make decisions, as the [israeli] prime minister should be, that he fully understands the consequences of any decision".

Apparently bolstered by this, the Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon, yesterday said that he would not hesitate to attack Palestinian militants in neighbouring countries.

"Israel will not be deterred from protecting its citizens and will strike its enemies in every place and in every way," he said. "At the same time, we will not miss any opening and opportunity to reach an agreement with our neighbours and peace."

The US has also demanded that Syria expel alleged Palestinian militants living in the country. Mr Assad has responded by maintaining that the Palestinians are "officials" and not leaders of Palestinian militant groups.

"We have refused their expulsion for many reasons," he said. "Those people have not violated Syrian laws or harmed Syrian interests and they are not, above all, terrorists."

Washington maintains the Damascus-based leadership of Hamas and Islamic Jihad directs, finances and provides information to its counterparts in the Palestinian territories.

Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2003

[xpyrate]

"Israel does not seek an escalation with Syria, and indeed has taken precautions to prevent that. We will act in self defence if necessary, but not if Damascus receives our message that it must stop supporting terror," the source said.

If they really didn't want an escalation of tensions then why did Israel bomb Syria. I swear the Israeli gov't is the biggest bunch of hypocratic liars on the face of this planet.

[g420]

Originally posted by xpyrate

If they really didn't want an escalation of tensions then why did Israel bomb Syria. I swear the Israeli gov't is the biggest bunch of hypocratic liars on the face of this planet.

They bombed Syria cause Syria's been funding the Islamic Jihad for years now...where have you been, it's the same shit we're doing & didin Afghanistan

Syria won't do shit either (typical arab shit talking), their army is a joke, they have Soviet made weapons that are outdated. If Israel was able to fuck them up 30 years ago & Syria at the time had allies, the conflict would last about a day, the Syrian air force wouldn't even get off the ground.

There was another article since then where Syria back pedaled on their statement

[t0nythelover]

down with israel

[babbo]

Originally posted by t0nythelover

down with israel

oh, shes upset, go fuck yrself

[t0nythelover]

fuck you how bout that...or do you want some sympathy cuz your great grandpa's cousins uncle lived somewhere near europe during the holocaust. fuckin yahoodi

[xpyrate]

So let them fund Islamic jihad and the hamas. What is it to us? They are only a threat to Israel. It is not our fight. See, what I'm concerned with is the fact I fund the Israelis army with my tax money. I do not want even one cent of MY money going to the Israeli army. We give them money and what do we get in return? The bombing of the USS Liberty, numerous espionage campaigns which seriously damaged our national security, co-conspiring the 199(3?) WTC bombing as well as 9/11. I see my tax money is being put to good use.

[bigpoppanils]

Originally posted by g420

Syria won't do shit either (typical arab shit talking), their army is a joke, they have Soviet made weapons that are outdated. If Israel was able to fuck them up 30 years ago & Syria at the time had allies, the conflict would last about a day, the Syrian air force wouldn't even get off the ground.

um....they have chem & bio weapons now....

[babbo]

Originally posted by t0nythelover

fuck you how bout that...or do you want some sympathy cuz your great grandpa's cousins uncle lived somewhere near europe during the holocaust. fuckin yahoodi

oh shit, her pussy bleeding now- up your ass

[babbo]

Originally posted by xpyrate

So let them fund Islamic jihad and the hamas. What is it to us? They are only a threat to Israel. It is not our fight. See, what I'm concerned with is the fact I fund the Israelis army with my tax money. I do not want even one cent of MY money going to the Israeli army. We give them money and what do we get in return? The bombing of the USS Liberty, numerous espionage campaigns which seriously damaged our national security, co-conspiring the 199(3?) WTC bombing as well as 9/11. I see my tax money is being put to good use.

you seem quite intelligent, enlightening thoughts keep them coming I'm entertained

[xpyrate]

Originally posted by babbo

you seem quite intelligent, enlightening thoughts keep them coming I'm entertained

Very good! You are intelligent enough to almost form a complete sentence.

:clap:

[babbo]

Originally posted by xpyrate

Very good! You are intelligent enough to almost form a complete sentence.

:clap:

oh fuck, shes pissed off now

[vixenfoxxy]

not that I really expect any intelligent response on this but...

For whoever asked "what do we care if they support jihad?" ...that isn't a threat only to Israel. One would think that would be obvious. Clearly, the physical distance between the western and arab worlds no longer matters, as attacks have landed on our soil.

Sending tax dollars to Israel does not in any way guarantee or pad us against attacks from Arab/Islamist extremists (or any other extremist for that matter). In fact, it rather helps secure our fate with regard to that. Israel is not a welcome addition in that part of the world, especially not with their belligerent, woe-is-me but forget who impinged on who first attitude.

[babbo]

Originally posted by t0nythelover

fuck you how bout that...or do you want some sympathy cuz your great grandpa's cousins uncle lived somewhere near europe during the holocaust. fuckin yahoodi

lemme guess, your poppi and abuela still living near the verrazano bridge, gettin welfare stamp? eh marichon?

[babbo]

Originally posted by vixenfoxxy

not that I really expect any intelligent response on this but...

For whoever asked "what do we care if they support jihad?" ...that isn't a threat only to Israel. One would think that would be obvious. Clearly, the physical distance between the western and arab worlds no longer matters, as attacks have landed on our soil.

Sending tax dollars to Israel does not in any way guarantee or pad us against attacks from Arab/Islamist extremists (or any other extremist for that matter). In fact, it rather helps secure our fate with regard to that. Israel is not a welcome addition in that part of the world, especially not with their belligerent, woe-is-me but forget who impinged on who first attitude.

if we want to study the 100'0s of year history in that neighborhood- that is quite easy and doable. however, if you don't know wo the threat and enemy is to the world at large, then all I can say is, you're naive.

[xpyrate]

Origianlly posted by vixenfoxxy[/]

not that I really expect any intelligent response on this but...

For whoever asked "what do we care if they support jihad?" ...that isn't a threat only to Israel. One would think that would be obvious. Clearly, the physical distance between the western and arab worlds no longer matters, as attacks have landed on our soil.

Sending tax dollars to Israel does not in any way guarantee or pad us against attacks from Arab/Islamist extremists (or any other extremist for that matter). In fact, it rather helps secure our fate with regard to that. Israel is not a welcome addition in that part of the world, especially not with their belligerent, woe-is-me but forget who impinged on who first attitude.

OK, I asked that and I meant Islamic Jihad the Palestinian resistance orginization not jihad in general.

Now, when 9/11 first happened what did our leaders cliam the reasoning behind the attacks were? What I heard was that they were 'jealous' of our freedom and our wealth, and they hated us because we let our women walk around without having to cover their face and so on and so forth.

At first, I bought this rediculous lie, because I was upset about the attacks and the fact that I had only fervent Israel supporters as friends to tell me what to think. Then I did a little research on my own and found that the vast majority of what I was being told was pure Israeli propaganda.

To understand what is the right thing to do in this so-called 'war on terror' we must understand why they truly hate us. Now you could watch the news and and see what the Fox news experts come up with or you could take it straight from the enemy themself.

"For over half a century, Muslims in Palestine have been

slaughtered and assaulted and robbed of their honor and of

their property. Their houses have been blasted, their crops

destroyed…

The continuation of tyranny will bring the [war] to America, as

Ramzi Yousel & others did. This is my message to the American

people: to look for a serious government that looks out for

their interests & does not attack others, their lands, or

their honor."

--Osama Bin Laden, from a May 1998 interview with ABC reporter

John Miller

While he is not scaring me with his threats, and I hate the guy as much as any red blooded American, but it does stand to reason that if we had discontinued support of Israel back then 9/11 may not have happened. Of course that is just speculation. I do not see this as cow-towing to the enemies threats either. For we should have never have supported Israel in the first place. How about more of a 50/50 approach? We do not have to fund the Israeli army nor do we have to support the Palestinian side. We can be neutral in the conflict. Sending Israel billions of dollars does not constitute neutrality, it is saying to people like Bin Laden that we hate you even though we are not engaged in a conflict with you. That is, we were funding Israel BEFORE the Muslims even lifted a finger to attack us.

We should never take sides in a foreign conflict. It will only lead to trouble. And trouble we got on 9/11. George Washington warned us not to meddle in the affairs of other countries and 9/11 is the price we paid for not listening to his advice.

[babbo]

Originally posted by xpyrate

OK, I asked that and I meant Islamic Jihad the Palestinian resistance orginization not jihad in general.

Now, when 9/11 first happened what did our leaders cliam the reasoning behind the attacks were? What I heard was that they were 'jealous' of our freedom and our wealth, and they hated us because we let our women walk around without having to cover their face and so on and so forth.

At first, I bought this rediculous lie, because I was upset about the attacks and the fact that I had only fervent Israel supporters as friends to tell me what to think. Then I did a little research on my own and found that the vast majority of what I was being told was pure Israeli propaganda.

To understand what is the right thing to do in this so-called 'war on terror' we must understand why they truly hate us. Now you could watch the news and and see what the Fox news experts come up with or you could take it straight from the enemy themself.

"For over half a century, Muslims in Palestine have been

slaughtered and assaulted and robbed of their honor and of

their property. Their houses have been blasted, their crops

destroyed…

The continuation of tyranny will bring the [war] to America, as

Ramzi Yousel & others did. This is my message to the American

people: to look for a serious government that looks out for

their interests & does not attack others, their lands, or

their honor."

--Osama Bin Laden, from a May 1998 interview with ABC reporter

John Miller

While he is not scaring me with his threats, and I hate the guy as much as any red blooded American, but it does stand to reason that if we had discontinued support of Israel back then 9/11 may not have happened. Of course that is just speculation. I do not see this as cow-towing to the enemies threats either. For we should have never have supported Israel in the first place. How about more of a 50/50 approach? We do not have to fund the Israeli army nor do we have to support the Palestinian side. We can be neutral in the conflict. Sending Israel billions of dollars does not constitute neutrality, it is saying to people like Bin Laden that we hate you even though we are not engaged in a conflict with you. That is, we were funding Israel BEFORE the Muslims even lifted a finger to attack us.

We should never take sides in a foreign conflict. It will only lead to trouble. And trouble we got on 9/11. George Washington warned us not to meddle in the affairs of other countries and 9/11 is the price we paid for not listening to his advice.

I am truly amazed, and not even amused by thisignorance- thanks for reminding me of how ignorant many of the american population can be-it goes beyond belief

[xpyrate]

So you're saying George Washington is ignorant?

[babbo]

Originally posted by xpyrate

So you're saying George Washington is ignorant?

what the fuck does he have to do with it, he had slaves, should we do that also- you sad sack of.....

[xpyrate]

If you had read my post you would see what Washington has to do with it. See, he warned us not interfere in the affairs of other countries. And we interfered with the Israel/Palestinian conflict by funding the IOF. Thus bringing about severe resentment towards us, within the Islamic world, escalating enough for them to knock down the WTC. So therefor, if we had taken his advice we would not be in the predicament we are in now.

Everybody had slaves back then. Doesn't mean that he was an idiot? No. And wtf does slavery have to do with anything I said anyway? But instead of giving me a worthwhile response you will undoubtedly give me some silly smart ass response that has nothing to do with anything.

It's funny how you call me ignorant, yet you have not yet produced one clear, intelligible sentence.

[babbo]

Originally posted by xpyrate

If you had read my post you would see what Washington has to do with it. See, he warned us not interfere in the affairs of other countries. And we interfered with the Israel/Palestinian conflict by funding the IOF. Thus bringing about severe resentment towards us, within the Islamic world, escalating enough for them to knock down the WTC. So therefor, if we had taken his advice we would not be in the predicament we are in now.

Everybody had slaves back then. Doesn't mean that he was an idiot? No. And wtf does slavery have to do with anything I said anyway? But instead of giving me a worthwhile response you will undoubtedly give me some silly smart ass response that has nothing to do with anything.

It's funny how you call me ignorant, yet you have not yet produced one clear, intelligible sentence.

cant waste the time on you, if you dont know who your friends or, or who your enemys are- then i suugest to you- dont cross the street history, GW, all the info- brings ine to a conclusion, good luck to ya

[babbo]

Originally posted by babbo

cant waste the time on you, if you dont know who your friends or, or who your enemys are- then i suugest to you- dont cross the street history, GW, all the info- brings one to a conclusion, good luck to ya

[vixenfoxxy]

Originally posted by babbo

if we want to study the 100'0s of year history in that neighborhood- that is quite easy and doable. however, if you don't know wo the threat and enemy is to the world at large, then all I can say is, you're naive.

Yes, because I'm sure that all Georgetown's International Law Students (there's 250 of us... in the world) are so naive

The greatest danger to US is... Bush. His policies have violated international law in ways so clear that even top international and diplomacy lawyers are at a loss as to how to justify it. Being as how you're obviously so brilliant, why don't you explain to me why you suppose the rest of the world should follow international law if one of its main founders does not? How do you propose to fix the situation if the international law system collapses into anarchy? Why do you think the US is any more justified in using unlawful, violent, subversive tactics than any other nation? Are economics really enough to justify anything and, if they are, why? Not to be offensive but maybe you should leave governance to those of us who are objective and have a clue. Whoever noted that you can't seem to collect a response other than "well i don't have to listen to you because you're silly and a poohead" hit that nail right on the head. If you don't have anything intelligent to say, just move onto any of the other 2 billion mindless threads on this board

Xpyrate -

I agree with what you're saying on Israel, and what Osama said is, much as I hate to say it, absolutely correct. Fact is, as I noted above, the US carries on and on about being the benevolent world cop and supporting the UN and the international system - but case by case, the US is the biggest abuser of the international system. Now, in strictly restrictionist legal terms, US support of Israel doesn't constitute a breach of neutrality (Nicaragua case ruling by the ICJ supports a strict definition of "armed attack" as defined in article 2(4) of the charter). But let's not kid ourselves - even if that part is cut out, the US has breached countless norms of international law and George Dubya Douche has been the loudest shootin' cowboy of all of them thus far. The sooner he drops dead the sooner the US is safer.

*waits for smokesum to interject some "you're such a nerd" comment*

[CHRles]

I'm sure the Israeli government and the Arabic coalition have nothing better to do then to read the drama section of Clubplanet...

BTW, nils, vixen, I'm touched that you both are touched that Osama was so touched by the "slaughter" going on in past decades. Yes, Osama grew up with so much misery in a rich part of Saudi Arabia with his rich dad. Oh yeah, this guy's been to Israel countless times, so who better to believe then the man responsible for 9/11.

Why has Osama never brought up all the slaughtering that went on in Iran during the late 70s revolution? What about those "innocent" Palestinians the king of Jordan either eliminated or exiled in the early 70s? Or all the innocent lives lost in Lebanon a few years later as a result of a civil war, which the Palestinians are largely credited for starting (pitting Christian Arabs vs. Moslim ones)? Or why not bring up the fact that many Israeli lives were lost in the past 50 years as a result of several wars? Or the fact that the Arab world supported the USSR throughout most of the past 50 years? You think maybe the Western World still holds a grudge or two against the Arab nations in that sense? Or the way they've created oil crises whenever they've lost a battle to Israel?

Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East, the only one! When the Palestinians aren't too busy making plans to bomb Israel, they're plotting to kill their own kind. There isn't gonna be no democracy in Gaza, and the massacre of innocent lives continues even with the Palestinias controlling that territory.

Syria has been on America's black list for a long time now folks. It's no secret that America has plans of its own to go into countries like Syria and Libya, which are well known to the Western World as countries that support, encourage, fund, and train terrorists.

Just what exactly are they teaching Georgetown students these days?!

[CHRles]

P.S. it's interesting how there are a lot less Arabs in the university I went to in Tampa. There's a good number of Jewish and even Israeli professors teaching at USF, but there are obviously also some Arabic ones. None of the Jewish ones were suspected of any crimes, but a few of the engineering Arabic professors, now thats a different case. One of these professors kept denying any involvement with any terrorist organization...as it turns out he was the HEAD of a terrorist cell with ambitious plans to teach both America and Israel a lesson. Oh, and he used his class as a front for recruiting more people into his organization. Yeah, that made me feel real safe.

I noticed that after he was expelled (which is the least of his concerns) Arabs became a lot less noticeable and vocal in Tampa. Gee I can't imagine why