"I would expect to travel to Syria to have very candid and straightforward discussions," Powell

WASHINGTON, April 17 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said Wednesday, April 16, that he expected to travel to Syria as part of a "very vigorous diplomatic exchange" with a country Washington has accused of developing chemical weapons and providing a haven to senior Iraqi officials.

"I would expect to travel to Syria to have very candid and straightforward discussions with my foreign minister colleague (Farouk al-Sharaa) and with President Bashar Assad," Powell said in a press interview here, Agence France-Presse (AFP) said.

He did not say when he intended to visit Damascus, but indicated the stop would be in the framework of larger trip to the Middle East to try to breathe new life into the peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.

Powell's comments followed several days of mounting bellicose language against the Damascus government for an alleged cooperation with the Saddam Hussein regime.

Syria categorically rejected the accusations, saying they are meant to cover for a state of anarchy and chaos descending the Iraqi areas after the U.S. forces pushed into Baghdad and declared the downfall of Saddam. 

State Department officials appeared surprised by Powell's remarks about a trip to Syria, and said the dates and itinerary for such a trip have not been fixed, Washington Post reported.

The neoconservative hawks in the U.S. administration reportedly made the case for launching a military aggression against Syria similar to that against neighboring Iraq.

U.S. President George W. Bush, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Powell have in recent days stepped up warnings to Syria in particular that it could face “consequences” unless changing its policies.

But in contrast to other administration officials, who have left vague the possibility of U.S. military action against Syria, Powell has stressed the need for intensive diplomacy combined with economic pressure.

He said on Tuesday, April 15, that there are no plans for war against Syria

"There is no war plan right now to go attack someone else," he said, but added that Washington was expecting to see change in Syria.

Damascus Welcomes

A Syrian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Buthaina Shaaban, welcomed the possibility of a Powell visit, saying that diplomatic talks are "much quieter and much more constructive" than trading accusations through the media.

She said the two countries were already conducting intensive discussions through U.S. Ambassador to Syria Theodore H. Kattouf.

If Powell does go to Damascus, it will be the third time he has visited the Syrian capital since becoming secretary in January 2001.

State Department officials said Powell felt that Syrian President Bashar Assad had failed to deliver on assurances that he would stop the “illegal oil” trade between Iraq and Syria, an important source of revenue for the Syrian government by enabling it to export its own oil and pocket disproportionate commissions.

Assad is a staunch opponent of the war against Iraq, saying it is a "clear occupation and aggression against a U.N Security Council member state".

U.S. troops in Iraq have shut down a pipeline running from Kirkuk to the Syrian port of Banyas that was reopened soon after Assad succeeded his father in June 2000. According to various estimates, the shutdown of the oil-smuggling business could cost Damascus between $500 million and $1 billion a year.

‘Skeptic’

In the Arab world, U.S. pressure on Syria has been widely interpreted as aimed at pressuring Damascus to make concessions to Israel.

"The threats and warnings of the U.S. are a mere means of pressure, and I don't believe the Americans would venture into launching a war against Syria," said Ahmad Barqawi, chairman of the philosophy department at Damascus University.

Middle East Free Of WMD

Syria, meanwhile, introduced a draft resolution in the U.N. Security Council calling for the elimination of all weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East, particularly nuclear weapons.

Syria said it is ready to open its facilities to international inspectors to verify it has no banned weapons as Washington claims.

The step reportedly interpreted to refute the U.S. allegations and put focus instead on Israel's nuclear weapons program. Israel is the only confirmed nuclear power in the Middle East.

Israel, which has never signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty or ratified the Chemical Weapons Convention, maintains that it will consider negotiations on the elimination of such weapons only as part of a comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace agreement.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon urged the United States to exert "very heavy" pressure on neighboring Syria to dislodge resistance organizations supported by Damascus. Syria has occupied Syria's Golan heights since the 1967 Mideast war.

"Hot Pursuit"

In the meanwhile, American commanders have promised to launch a “snatch-and-shoot” raid for Saddam even if they track him to a “hiding place in Syria”.

The proposal was condemned by British military officers as a breach of international law that would add to regional instability, The Times reported.

British and U.S. intelligence agencies are uncertain whether Saddam is even alive, let alone where he is.

A senior U.S. source at Central Command said that although troops hunting members of the Iraqi regime were under orders to respect Syria’s borders, an exception would be made for Saddam, said the British paper.

American special forces in western Iraq have been told that they can enter Syria to grab the former President, and in all likelihood kill him, if they have “credible Intelligence” of his whereabouts.

Their commanders would justify the action under the doctrine of “hot pursuit”, the disputed theory that soldiers who are in the act of hunting a terrorist suspect are allowed under international law to enter a foreign country without permission.

The suspect’s alleged crimes need to be sufficiently serious to justify the violation of the country’s territorial integrity. The source suggested that the action would be taken even if it could not be justified legally.

“We respect international law,” he said. “But if it was the ace of spades, it would be different.”

American soldiers in Iraq have been issued with a deck of cards showing the faces of 52 fugitive leaders of the regime: Saddam is the ace in the pack.

British officers, publicly at least, are opposed to the plans.

“By the very nature (of international law) you should not go crossing international borders in an illegal manner,” a British military spokesman said.