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Rice blames israeli attack on syria Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2005-03-01-palestinian-conference_x.htm?POE=NEWISVAhttp://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2005-03-01-palestinian-conference_x.htm?POE=NEWISVA
Posted 3/1/2005 5:12 AM Updated 3/1/2005 10:31 PM
Rice says Syria helped terrorists kill Israelis
LONDON — Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice accused Syria on Tuesday of abetting a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv that killed five Israelis last Friday. Her comments came as international pressure escalated on Syria for its alleged role in terrorist attacks in Israel, Lebanon and Iraq.
By John McHugh, AP
"There is firm evidence that Palestinian Islamic Jihad, sitting in Damascus, not only knew about the (Tel Aviv) attacks but was involved in the planning," Rice said in an interview with ABC News. Islamic Jihad, a Palestinian terrorist group supported by both Iran and Syria, had claimed responsibility for the bombing. "We don't know the degree of Syrian involvement," Rice told ABC, but "the Syrians have a lot to answer for." The Bush administration has repeatedly asked Syria to close down offices of anti-Israeli Palestinian groups in Damascus. The Syrians have closed some offices, but groups remain active there. (Related: Rice praises Israel, Palestinians)
In apparent response to growing international criticism and street protests in Lebanon, Syrian President Bashar Assad told Time magazine in an interview published Tuesday that Syria will withdraw its troops from Lebanon by this summer. Syria has made similar promises before, but Assad's timetable was unusually explicit. (Related: Assad hints at exit)
A withdrawal, if it happened, would end a Syrian military presence in Lebanon that began in 1976. Syrian troops entered the country to try to quell fighting in the civil war that broke out in 1975 and lasted until 1990. Syria has 15,000 troops in Lebanon, down from a high of about 35,000.
"Withdrawal should be very soon and maybe in the next few months. Not after that," Assad told Time. He said he would have to consult with Syrian military officials to determine where to put the returning troops and how to fortify the Syria-Lebanon border.
Rice was in London on Tuesday to attend a multinational meeting supporting the new Palestinian leadership's efforts at reform. She told a news conference that there is "a long list of concerns about a Syria that is standing in the way of Lebanese, Iraqis, Palestinians and others in their aspirations for a better world." (Video: Abbas pledges to reform security)
Rice's accusation was one of several that increased the pressure on Syria over its role in regional turmoil. Taken together, the criticism significantly increases pressure on Syria to stop support for Palestinian militant groups, withdraw from Lebanon and end any support for the insurgency in Iraq. Rice sidestepped a question about whether the United States would contemplate military action against Syria. "At this point, the pressure of the international community is quite palpable on Syria," she said.
Among other developments Tuesday:
• Street protests continued in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, where citizens have angrily blamed Syria and pro-Syrian government leaders for the assassination of popular former Lebanese prime minister Rafik al-Hariri. Al-Hariri's death Feb. 14 in a bomb attack in Beirut triggered demonstrations that led Monday to the resignation of Lebanon's prime minister. The protesters have demanded that Syria pull its troops out of Lebanon.
• In Washington, Gen. John Abizaid, head of U.S. Central Command, which oversees the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, tied Syria to the insurgency in Iraq. He said that while Syria has tightened security on its border with Iraq, it wasn't trying hard enough to stop fighters from crossing from Syria into Iraq. "I would characterize Syria as continuing to be very unhelpful in helping Iraq achieve stability," Abizaid told the Senate Armed Services Committee. He said it was also clear that Syria was providing "de facto safe haven" to former members of Saddam Hussein's Baath Party, though he said he couldn't tie that effort directly to the Syrian government.
• France, which opposed the war in Iraq, has joined the United States in urging the Syrians to withdraw from Lebanon, a country that France largely controlled from the end of World War I until the end of World War II. French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier, appearing with Rice on Tuesday, said "there can be absolutely no excuse to postpone implementation" of a United Nations Security Council resolution co-sponsored by the United States and France in September that calls for all foreign forces to leave Lebanon.
Russia, a traditional Syrian ally, also called for a withdrawal Tuesday.
Rice declined to say whether the United States would support sending a U.N. peacekeeping force after Syrian troops withdrew from Lebanon. Such a force would be intended to prevent a power vacuum that could throw the country into turmoil and to counter Lebanese militant groups. Rice said the first task is to help Lebanon hold free and fair elections for a new parliament.
Contributing: Dave Moniz in Washington, wire reports
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