bobdina
04-22-2010, 12:51 PM
‘All Options’ Open if Syria Traded Scuds
April 22, 2010
Agence France-Presse
The United States said Wednesday it considered "all options" on the table if Syria is found to have supplied Scud missiles to Hezbollah, posing a major threat for Israel.
Jeffrey Feltman, the assistant secretary of state for the Middle East, said the United States would have "really, really serious concern" if Syria delivered such high-grade weapons to the Lebanese Shiite militia.
"If these reports turn out to be true, we're going to have to review the full range of tools that are available for us in order to make Syria reverse what would be an incendiary, provocative action," Feltman said.
"The United States has shown in the past that we are able to act," he told a congressional hearing. "I expect that all options are going to be on the table looking at this."
But Feltman and other State Department officials said they were still investigating the alleged Scud missile transfer.
"We continue to study the matter," State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said.
Israeli President Shimon Peres on April 13 accused Syria of providing Hezbollah with Scud ballistic missiles, prompting Washington to warn that the trade "potentially puts Lebanon at significant risk."
Israel launched punishing raids on Lebanon in 2006 in response to attacks by Hezbollah with rockets, which are less sophisticated than Scuds.
The 34-day war killed 1,200 Lebanese, mostly civilians, and more than 160 Israelis, mainly soldiers.
The allegations come just as the United States cautiously steps up dialogue with Syria. President Obama in February appointed the first U.S. ambassador to Damascus in five years.
The United States on Monday summoned the most senior Syrian diplomat in Washington over concerns about the alleged missile delivery.
April 22, 2010
Agence France-Presse
The United States said Wednesday it considered "all options" on the table if Syria is found to have supplied Scud missiles to Hezbollah, posing a major threat for Israel.
Jeffrey Feltman, the assistant secretary of state for the Middle East, said the United States would have "really, really serious concern" if Syria delivered such high-grade weapons to the Lebanese Shiite militia.
"If these reports turn out to be true, we're going to have to review the full range of tools that are available for us in order to make Syria reverse what would be an incendiary, provocative action," Feltman said.
"The United States has shown in the past that we are able to act," he told a congressional hearing. "I expect that all options are going to be on the table looking at this."
But Feltman and other State Department officials said they were still investigating the alleged Scud missile transfer.
"We continue to study the matter," State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said.
Israeli President Shimon Peres on April 13 accused Syria of providing Hezbollah with Scud ballistic missiles, prompting Washington to warn that the trade "potentially puts Lebanon at significant risk."
Israel launched punishing raids on Lebanon in 2006 in response to attacks by Hezbollah with rockets, which are less sophisticated than Scuds.
The 34-day war killed 1,200 Lebanese, mostly civilians, and more than 160 Israelis, mainly soldiers.
The allegations come just as the United States cautiously steps up dialogue with Syria. President Obama in February appointed the first U.S. ambassador to Damascus in five years.
The United States on Monday summoned the most senior Syrian diplomat in Washington over concerns about the alleged missile delivery.