US War on Terror May Spread to Syria, Report Says

Friday, January 23, 2004

By Jeff McKay

CNSNews.com Correspondent

With U.S. troops regularly patrolling the Iraq-Syrian border, and with a massive military presence in the region, the question of whether the war on terror would lead to Damascus is an ongoing topic of discussion in some quarters. "Syria clearly needs to do more," said Jon Alterman, Director of Middle East Programs for the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.

CNSNews.com
A new report indicates that Syria may be the next target in the U.S. war on terror.

In a report released Friday by the London-based Jane's Intelligence Digest, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld was quoted as saying that the U.S. is considering "multi-faceted attacks," which could be conducted against Hezbollah positions in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, controlled by Syria.

According to the report, the U.S. move would "almost certainly involve a confrontation" between American Special Forces and Syrian troops.

The report highlights potential military action against Somalia as well as Syria. According to the Jane's report, "Covert U.S. forces have periodically infiltrated Somalia over the past two years to conduct surveillance and even potentially snatch suspects wanted for the November 2002 suicide bomb attacks in Mombassa, Kenya."

In near simultaneous attacks, al Qaeda terrorists bombed a hotel and attempted to bring down an Israeli airliner using a shoulder-fired, surface-to-air missile.

In addition, the Jane's report states that during the past six months, there has been an increased US military presence along the Syrian border with Iraq "and, on several occasions, [the U.S.] has sent special forces into Syrian territory or penetrated Syrian air space."

(More: CNSNews.com)

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