Condoleezza - The Bush Agenda

Rice takes aim at Syria over human rights
By Sue Pleming - Reuters

[ In my blog opinion....
While we're in the nation bashing business, here is another one we're aiming at. The only reason I'm posting this is to show that the administration is feverishly trying to distract us from his low ratings and credibility problems both here and abroad as he struggles in his second ‘lame duck' term.

The pundits (political science professors, et al) have been saying that the Republicans have to generate a flurry of activities to redirect our attention away from a ‘failed Presidency' and especially Bush's miserable Iraq policy.

If it doesn't happen between now and the 2006 elections, Bush may find very few Republicans who are running want to visit him at the White House or even less, have him visit them! He dropped in to shore up the Virginia contest last week and probably contributed to the Republican defeat there.

I wonder also whether it is just coincidental timing that ABC (?) is going to air a documentary on the miserable plight of the North Korean people including the showing public executions - don't want to miss that!

It seems that Condoleezza will next go to visit the Saudi's and bash their civil rights behavior, then on to Jerusalem for the Judeo-Christian voters against Arabs. Ultimately she'll end up with Bush at the APEC summit in South Korea where he will attempt to avoid protesters, bash North Korea, and focus on bird flu.

Bear in mind that these are not all "bad" subjects, but as one of Syria's politicians pointed out that the US always seems to have a ‘secret agenda' - I think we know what it is... AG]

MANAMA (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice took aim at Syria on Saturday over its human rights record, stepping up Washington's bid to isolate Damascus internationally.

The top U.S. diplomat used a conference in Bahrain attended by Arab leaders trying to promote economic and political reform, to criticize what she said was Syria's "arbitrary detention" of human rights activists.

"We continue to support the Syrian people's aspirations for liberty, democracy, and justice under the rule of law," said Rice in a sideways swipe at the government in Damascus.

"We would like to see an end to the arbitrary detentions of democratic and human rights activists -- including Kamal Labwani and all the prisoners of conscience from the Damascus Spring," she added.

The Damascus Spring was a period of intense political and social debate in Syria which started after the death of President Hafez al-Assad in June 2000.

Opposition activist Labwani was arrested in Syria on November 8 on his return from a visit to the United States where he had met senior U.S. officials.

Syrian Foreign Minister Farouq al-Shara, also at the Bahrain conference, shot back, telling reporters he expected Washington to continue pressuring Damascus because of a "hidden agenda."

"I expect everything because they build their policies on a hidden agenda," he told reporters. He did not elaborate.

Relations are at a low between Washington and Syria, which the United States also accuses of fomenting the insurgency in
Iraq by allowing foreign fighters to enter there from Syria.

STRONG CRITICISM
Rice strongly criticized Syria for what she calls its "non-cooperation" with a UN investigation into the assassination last February 14 of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri.

"They should stop trying to negotiate and cooperate," she told reporters traveling with her on a trip to the Middle East, which began with a stop in Iraq on Friday.

Syria has dismissed a UN report implicating its officials in the bombing that killed Hariri, saying it was politically motivated.

That report spoke of evidence pointing to Syrian and Lebanese involvement in Hariri's killing and said it would be hard to imagine how such a plot could have gone ahead without the knowledge of Syrian and Lebanese intelligence services.

A Security Council resolution demanded Syria cooperate fully with the probe or face unspecified action. UN investigator Detlev Mehlis has until December 15 to complete his inquiry and report to the Security Council.

Syria has insisted it is cooperating with the UN investigation and on Saturday proposed Cairo, Vienna and Geneva as venues for UN investigators to question six Syrian officials. The UN team has asked for the interviews to be in Beirut.

"Syria is going to fully cooperate with the international commission led by Mr. Mehlis. We have no reservations except concerning the sovereignty of Syria," Shara said.

U.N investigators questioned Lebanese President Emile Lahoud, a staunch ally of Damascus, on Friday as part of their inquiry.

Rice is set to travel to Saudi Arabia later on Saturday and then go to Jerusalem and Ramallah on Sunday. She also plans a stop in Jordan on Monday to pay her respects after bombings this week and will then join President George W. Bush in Asia for an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.