Any prophecy buffs out there following this story;
US: Syria missile reports deeply troubling
By MATTHEW LEE (AP) – 17 hours ago
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration said Wednesday it has warned Syria numerous times in recent weeks that transferring ballistic missiles to Lebanon's Hezbollah militia could lead to a new war in the Middle East.
The administration's top diplomat for the region, Jeffrey Feltman, told a congressional committee that the message had been conveyed to senior Syrian officials at least five times since late February.
Feltman would not confirm reports that Syria has sent Scud missiles to Hezbollah, but said such giving such weapons to Hezbollah would be "an incendiary, provocative action" that "could affect war and peace in (the) region." He said the U.S. viewed the matter with the gravest concern and would keep "all options" open to deal with it.
The dire warning comes as Israel, which regards Hezbollah as a major threat, has accused Syria of providing the group with Scuds. Scuds have a far longer range and can carry a much bigger warhead than rockets Hezbollah has used in the past and could reach anywhere in Israel from Hezbollah bases in southern Lebanon. Syria has denied the charge, as has Lebanon's Western-backed prime minister.
"If these reports turn out to be true, we're going to have to review the whole range of tools that are available for us in order to make Syria reverse what would be an incendiary, provocative action," Feltman told the House Foreign Affairs Committee. "I expect that all options are going to be on the table looking at this." He did not elaborate.
Beginning on Feb. 26, U.S. officials summoned Syria's U.S. ambassador "because we were so concerned with information we had that Syria was passing increasingly sophisticated ballistic weapons to Hezbollah," Feltman said. Similar warnings were passed to the ambassador or his deputy on March 1, March 10 and March 19, he said.
In addition, Feltman said he had raised the matter earlier Wednesday in a phone call with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem. He added the concerns underscored the need to send a new U.S. ambassador to Damascus to ensure that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad understands the situation.
"When President Assad is taking decisions that could affect war and peace in his region he needs to have clear understanding of what the implications are, what the U.S. positions are and what the red lines are," Feltman said.
Some lawmakers are threatening to hold up the confirmation of the administration's choice to be the first U.S. ambassador Syria in five years, career diplomat Robert Ford, because of the Scud reports.
Feltman argued that limiting American access to Assad would be a mistake since the Syrian president is speaking with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah.
"President Assad is making decisions in a very volatile and dangerous region," he said. "Syria has made mistakes before and Syria has, in fact, paid the consequences for those mistakes."
"He is listening to people like Hassan Nasrallah, he is listening to people like Ahmadinejad," Feltman said. "We need to be making our message to him loud and clear and directly."
Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Take a look at Isaiah 17
Any prophecy buffs out there following this story;
US: Syria missile reports deeply troubling
By MATTHEW LEE (AP) – 17 hours ago
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration said Wednesday it has warned Syria numerous times in recent weeks that transferring ballistic missiles to Lebanon's Hezbollah militia could lead to a new war in the Middle East.
The administration's top diplomat for the region, Jeffrey Feltman, told a congressional committee that the message had been conveyed to senior Syrian officials at least five times since late February.
Feltman would not confirm reports that Syria has sent Scud missiles to Hezbollah, but said such giving such weapons to Hezbollah would be "an incendiary, provocative action" that "could affect war and peace in (the) region." He said the U.S. viewed the matter with the gravest concern and would keep "all options" open to deal with it.
The dire warning comes as Israel, which regards Hezbollah as a major threat, has accused Syria of providing the group with Scuds. Scuds have a far longer range and can carry a much bigger warhead than rockets Hezbollah has used in the past and could reach anywhere in Israel from Hezbollah bases in southern Lebanon. Syria has denied the charge, as has Lebanon's Western-backed prime minister.
"If these reports turn out to be true, we're going to have to review the whole range of tools that are available for us in order to make Syria reverse what would be an incendiary, provocative action," Feltman told the House Foreign Affairs Committee. "I expect that all options are going to be on the table looking at this." He did not elaborate.
Beginning on Feb. 26, U.S. officials summoned Syria's U.S. ambassador "because we were so concerned with information we had that Syria was passing increasingly sophisticated ballistic weapons to Hezbollah," Feltman said. Similar warnings were passed to the ambassador or his deputy on March 1, March 10 and March 19, he said.
In addition, Feltman said he had raised the matter earlier Wednesday in a phone call with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem. He added the concerns underscored the need to send a new U.S. ambassador to Damascus to ensure that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad understands the situation.
"When President Assad is taking decisions that could affect war and peace in his region he needs to have clear understanding of what the implications are, what the U.S. positions are and what the red lines are," Feltman said.
Some lawmakers are threatening to hold up the confirmation of the administration's choice to be the first U.S. ambassador Syria in five years, career diplomat Robert Ford, because of the Scud reports.
Feltman argued that limiting American access to Assad would be a mistake since the Syrian president is speaking with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah.
"President Assad is making decisions in a very volatile and dangerous region," he said. "Syria has made mistakes before and Syria has, in fact, paid the consequences for those mistakes."
"He is listening to people like Hassan Nasrallah, he is listening to people like Ahmadinejad," Feltman said. "We need to be making our message to him loud and clear and directly."
Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Take a look at Isaiah 17
