US keeps Syria on terrorism blacklist

Report by AFP - Thursday, 05 August 2010:

US declines to put NKorea back on terrorism blacklist

The Obama administration declined Thursday to put North Korea back on a blacklist of countries supporting terrorism despite pressure from lawmakers to do so.

In its report for 2009, the State Department kept the same countries on the list as it did in 2008 -- Iran, Sudan, Cuba and Syria -- with Iran again listed as the "most active state sponsor of terrorism."

Former US president George W. Bush de-listed North Korea in 2008 after it vowed to end its nuclear program, agreed to inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and pledged to disable its nuclear plants.

The Obama administration has kept it off the list again after citing narrow legal definition for what constitutes support for terrorism.

In June 2009, 16 US Republican Senators urged President Barack Obama's administration to place the communist regime back on the US blacklist.

The North conducted its second nuclear test the previous month and defied international criticism by firing a volley of short-range missiles and threatening to attack the capitalist South.

Though the report does not cover events this year, Republican senators renewed their call for North Korea to be listed again after South Korea and the United States blamed it for sinking a South Korean warship in March.

In keeping four countries on the blacklist, the Country Reports on Terrorism 2009 said "Iran remained the most active state sponsor of terrorism".

"Iran?s financial, material, and logistic support for terrorist and militant groups throughout the Middle East and Central Asia had a direct impact on international efforts to promote peace, threatened economic stability in the Gulf and undermined the growth of democracy," it said.

The US accuses Iran of actively supporting groups like the Taliban in Afghanistan, Shiite groups in Iraq and Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in the Palestinian territories.

On Sudan, the report said the government was cooperating with US counter-terrorism efforts, but said "Al-Qaeda-inspired terrorist elements as well as elements of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and HAMAS, remained in Sudan in 2009."

The report said the United States disagrees with Syria's support for what it calls national liberation movements, groups Washington considers are terrorist.

"Syria continued to provide safe-haven as well as political and other support to a number of designated Palestinian terrorist groups, including HAMAS, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC)," the report.

The report complained that Cuba still gives safe haven and ideological support for three terrorist organizations.

"The Government of Cuba has long assisted members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the National Liberation Army of Colombia (ELN), and Spain?s Basque Homeland and Freedom Organization (ETA), some having arrived in Cuba in connection with peace negotiations with the governments of Colombia and Spain," it said.

Iraq Confronts Syria over Terrorism as U.S. Dithers

From Pajamas Media
Iraq Confronts Syria over Terrorism as U.S. Dithers
November 23, 2009 - by Ryan Mauro

The Obama administration could learn a lesson in fortitude from the Maliki government.

Iraq has had enough. Faced with ongoing attacks from forces supported by Syria, the Iraqis are taking an increasingly hard line and are refusing to back down. They are fully aware that a confrontation brings the risk of further instability, but the Iraqis recognize that the only way to ultimately stop the violence is to stop those enabling it. Already, their new stance towards Syria is bringing results, while the U.S. keeps rewarding Syria through inaction — a silent way of confirming to the Syrians that we understand that our security is dependent upon them.

This assessment of the impression given to Syria is not speculation, but is a summary of a thinly veiled, successful Syrian strategy. Take a look at the following words of Ahmed Salkini, a political advisor to the ambassador to the United States, regarding the current state of relations: “A previous administration did not want to cooperate, even if it cost American lives. This administration is realizing you have to cooperate in order to save lives, in order to advance U.S. interests, and that’s what we’re looking forward into the future.”

In other words: you need us and if we’re not happy, you’ll suffer. Supporters of the Assad regime will claim that Salkini was stating a simple fact that international cooperation increases security, but Syria has been directly supporting the insurgents in order to achieve the U.S. policy shift they seek. This is blackmail, pure and simple. The Obama administration apparently recognizes this and has reversed its previous plans by deciding not to send an ambassador to Syria.

The Iraqis are to be admired for refusing to be bullied. State sponsors of terrorism engage in such activity because they believe their involvement can’t be proven and that the victim won’t punish them out of a fear of escalating the conflict and not having the smoking gun proof to back up their assertions. The Iraqis have wisely responded by making their complaints public, rather than confining them to behind-the-scenes talks. They continue to demand that the United Nations establish a tribunal to prosecute those in Syria involved in the violence. Al-Maliki even hinted at supporting Assad’s own dissident elements in retaliation, saying, “Neighboring countries should behave like good neighbors because it is not hard for us to do the same things they did.”

The former Iraqi national security advisor is saying that they have evidence that Syrian intelligence officers are providing logistical support to al-Qaeda in Iraq, and following the October 25 bombings of the Justice Ministry and Baghdad government buildings killing 160 people, the foreign minister said they had “strong and tangible evidence” that those behind the bombings had safe harbor in Syria. It is unknown if the Assad regime had a direct hand in the attacks, but it is obvious that they at least did not stop acting as a safe harbor with the full knowledge of what it would result in.

The Iraqis previously accused Syria of having responsibility for the twin bombings in Baghdad on August 19, which really escalated the crisis between the two countries and resulted in the recalling of ambassadors. The Iraqis say they have wiretaps, confessions from captured terrorists, and photos of terrorist training camps in Syria to prove the Assad regime’s role in facilitating the attacks. They also have documents outlining the routes used by the terrorists to reach Iraq from Syria. On August 30, the Iraqis released the videotaped confession of a captured al-Qaeda terrorist believed to have led operations in Diyala Province, saying that he was trained at an al-Qaeda camp in Syria that “was well known to Syrian intelligence.”

The U.S. has disgracefully reacted to the crisis with neutrality. On August 26, a spokesperson for the State Department was asked about the tension between Iraq and Syria. He responded with: “We consider that an internal matter. We believe that, as a general principle, diplomatic dialogue is the best means to address the concerns of both parties.”

An Iraqi official has said that his country is experiencing major resistance from the U.S. in its push for an international tribunal to be created to target those in Syria involved in the insurgency. By failing to act against Syria or even provide political support for this move, the U.S. is helping the Assad regime and failing to understand that by waging war on Iraq they are waging war on the U.S. and its interests.

Al-Maliki now has to make a move. Some Iraqi politicians are accusing him of pointing the finger at Syria in order to distract from his own failure to establish security ahead of the elections. His government’s statements are failing to capture the attention of the world or convince the U.S. to modify its “engagement” policy to account for these transgressions.

After the threat to push for a tribunal, terrorist activity in Iraq dropped by three-fourths according to one Foreign Ministry diplomat. The October bombings obviously alter that statistic, but it is clear that al-Maliki made the right move in trying to remove the incentive for Syria to engage in covert support of terrorism by exposing it. More evidence should be released in a dramatic fashion, similar to Colin Powell’s 2003 presentation, albeit with more solid information. This will force America’s hand — and the Obama administration can’t accuse the Iraqis of disloyalty if they do so, considering their reaction to the Iraq-Syria crisis. It will also prove the credibility of the accusations and make the Assad regime think twice about putting its fingerprints on such violence.

The U.S. has complained about Syria’s sponsorship of terrorism for years and years, but for whatever reason has failed to make public the evidence to demonstrate how serious and deadly it is. The Iraqis have shown the way forward, not only in handling Syria, but in helping to deter state sponsorship of terrorism as a whole.

Ryan Mauro is the founder of WorldThreats.com and the director of intelligence at the Asymmetrical Warfare and Intelligence Center (AWIC). He’s also the national security researcher for the Christian Action Network and a published author. He can be contacted at TDCAnalyst@aol.com.

US says Syria raid 'successful' as Damascus fumes - Syrians 'Clearly Have Harbored' Al Qaeda in Iraq, Says US General

Snapshot of Google's newsreel GMT 23:23 Wednesday, 27 October 2008:

US attack on Syrian border village fails to derail London talks
Times Online, UK - 51 minutes ago
The Syrian foreign minister’s trip to London had been planned for weeks, after he and David Miliband held cordial talks on the sidelines of the United ...

Syrian minister Walid al-Muallem denounces US raid during UK visit
Times Online, UK - 51 minutes ago
Syria’s foreign minister yesterday denounced the American military raid on a Syrian village as an act of “criminal and terrorist aggression” and gave ...

Syria fears damage to Europe ties
BBC News, UK - 1 hour ago
By Jeremy Bowen It was not the visit to London that the Syrian foreign minister Walid Muallem was expecting. The plan was to meet Britain's foreign ...

US raid draws fire
Straits Times, Singapore - 1 hour ago
DAMASCUS: A stunning United States commando attack inside Syria has drawn flak from Syria as well as politicians in neighbouring countries. ...

Iraq hopes ties with Syria not impacted by US raid
Xinhua, China - 1 hour ago
BAGHDAD, Oct. 27 (Xinhua) -- The Iraqi government said Monday that it hopes the relationship with Syria will not be damaged by across-border air strike by ...

US says Syria raid 'successful' as Damascus fumes
AFP - 2 hours ago
WASHINGTON (AFP) — US forces in Iraq staged a "successful" raid into Syria against foreign fighters, an American official said on Monday, ...

Iran condemns US attack on Syrian soil
Tehran Times, Iran - 2 hours ago
TEHRAN– On Monday, Iran strongly condemned the US air raid on Syrian soil calling it “unacceptable”. “We condemn any military invasion and a violation of ...

US crossing more borders in terror war?
Christian Science Monitor, MA - 2 hours ago
By Gordon Lubold | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor Washington - In the name of protecting its forces in
Afghanistan and now Iraq, ...

Terrible crime, says Damascus
Times of India, India - 3 hours ago
DAMASCUS: Syria accused the United States on Monday of committing a “terrible crime” in killing eight civilians during a helicopter attack on a Syrian farm ...

Syria seethes at deadly US incursion, vows to resist further ...
Daily Star - Lebanon, Lebanon - 3 hours ago
By Agence France Presse (AFP) LONDON: Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem accused the United States on Monday of "terrorist aggression" over a deadly raid ...

Arab League slams US raid inside Syria
Xinhua, China - 3 hours ago
CAIRO, Oct. 27 (Xinhua) -- The Cairo-based Arab League (AL) on Monday denounced a US air strike on Sunday inside the Syrian territories that killed eight ...

Syria condemns US "terrorist aggression"
Xinhua, China - 3 hours ago
LONDON, Oct. 27 (Xinhua) -- Visiting Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem on Monday condemned the United States for its "terrorist aggression" on Syria ...

Syria condemns American 'terrorist aggression'
ABC Online, Australia - 4 hours ago
By Europe correspondent Emma Alberici The Syrian Foreign Minister has condemned the US attack on its border with Iraq labelling it an act of blatant ...

In pictures: Grief and anger in Syria
BBC News, UK - 4 hours ago
Pictures have emerged of what Syria says is the site of a deadly strike by US helicopters on its territory. Syria says eight people, four of them children, ...

Syria hopes new US leader learns mistakes of Bush era
AFP - 4 hours ago
LONDON (AFP) — Syria hopes the result of next week's US presidential election can help restore the United States' global reputation, learning the "mistakes" ...

US Acknowledges Syrian Protest of Alleged Raid
Voice of America - 4 hours ago
By David Gollust The State Department says Syria has lodged an official protest with the United States over a reported US helicopter raid Sunday into Syria ...

Syria's Al-Moallem Calls on US to Investigate Raid (Update1)
Bloomberg - 5 hours ago
By Caroline Alexander and Thomas Penny Oct. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al- Moallem called on the US to investigate and explain a ...

Syrian villager says 2 men grabbed in US raid
The Associated Press - 5 hours ago
SUKKARIYEH, Syria (AP) — A resident of the village that was the scene of a US raid says he saw at least two men taken into custody by American forces and ...

Damascus condemned a US helicopter attack inside Syria that killed ...
Jewish Telegraphic Agency, NY - 5 hours ago
The raid reportedly occurred Sunday afternoon in al-Boukamal, about six miles from the border with Iraq. An Iraqi government spokesman said Monday that the ...

Insecure border blamed for raid
Aljazeera.net, Qatar - 6 hours ago
Syria has accused the US of being behind a deadly raid on a Syrian village lying close to the country's border with Iraq, a claim which so far has not been ...

Syria says raid is 'terrorist' act
Aljazeera.net, Qatar - 6 hours ago
The Syrian foreign minister has described a deadly raid on a village near the border with Iraq, allegedly carried out by the US, as a planned act of ...

Syrians 'Clearly Have Harbored' Al Qaeda in Iraq, Says US General
U.S. News & World Report, DC - 6 hours ago
By Alex Kingsbury The US military launched its first known raid into Syria on Sunday after several years of frustration over Damascus's unwillingness—or ...

Iraq says raid on Syria targeted insurgents
Reuters - 6 hours ago
By Marwan Makdessi DAMASCUS (Reuters) - Syria accused the United States on Monday of carrying out a "terrorist aggression" after a deadly raid near its ...

Russia says US fuelling tension with Syria attack
Reuters India, India - 6 hours ago
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia accused the United States of fuelling dangerous tension in the Middle East on Monday after Syria said that US helicopters had ...

Spokesman: Iran receives no secret letter from US
Xinhua, China - 6 hours ago
TEHRAN, Oct. 27 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Hassan Qashqavi said Monday that Iran had received no secret letter from the United States to ...

Syria condemns US raid as 'act of terrorist aggression'
guardian.co.uk, UK - 6 hours ago
The Syrian foreign minister today condemned the killing of eight civilians in a US raid as an act of "criminal and terrorist aggression". ...

Syrians hold funerals for people killed in US raid
The Associated Press - 7 hours ago
SUKKARIYEH, Syria (AP) — Families in this village near the Iraqi border buried loved ones Monday who they said were killed when the US military launched a ...

Syria blasts US 'terrorist aggression' over village attack
AFP - 7 hours ago
LONDON (AFP) — Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem on Monday accused the United States of "terrorist aggression" over a deadly weekend raid on a village ...

Syria hits out at US 'terrorism'
BBC News, UK - 7 hours ago
Syria's foreign minister has accused the US of an act of "terrorist aggression" over what it says was a helicopter raid inside its territory. ...

Syrian minister accuses US of "terrorist aggression"
Reuters - 7 hours ago
LONDON (Reuters) - Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem accused the United States on Monday of carrying out a "terrorist aggression" on Syria after a ...