ARABS-US - Sep 12 - US Envoy Warns Syria On Terrorism.

The Bush administration's highest diplomat in Iraq Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, says Syria has become a hub for terrorists who want to stop democratic progress in Iraq and that US "patience is running out", but he refuses to specify what consequences Damascus may face. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad's tough talk on Syria was part of a US pressure campaign in many foreign capitals and at the UN gathering this week in New York. "Our patience is running out, the patience of Iraqis are running out. The time for decision", Khalilzad said, "has arrived for Damascus". Speaking to reporters at the State Department, he refused to rule out either a military strike on Syria or an attempt to punish it through the UN Security Council. "All options are on the table", Khalilzad said. The US says Syria allows a free flow of foreign terrorists across its border with Iraq and ignores terrorist training camps on its soil. Khalilzad charged that young, would-be terrorists are flying openly to Syria and are landing without detention at the Damascus airport on one-way tickets. "It simply is not tolerable that they, with impunity, can allow terrorists to come from other countries in the region, get training or pass through" to Iraq, he said. Khalilzad is in Washington to accompany President Jalal Talabani of Iraq as he visits the White House and meets with members of Congress.