SYRIA - Sept. 16 - US Terrorism Charge.

US Undersecretary of State for Arms Control John Bolton tells a House International Relations subcommittee Damascus continues to co-operate with terrorist groups, to develop WMD and let militants slip into Iraq to kill US forces. (Bolton has long been a harsh critic of Syria, and his comments come just a day after Secretary of State Powell called on Damascus to respond more forcefully to US demands for co-operation. But Bolton, while laying out a damning list of allegations against Damascus, indicates that the Bush administration is not ready to endorse legislation to permit economic and diplomatic sanctions against Syria over its WMD programmes and its support for anti-Israel terror groups). He says passage of the Syria Accountability Act could derail larger US objectives in the region, adding: "Secretary Powell has been engaged in some very intensive diplomacy with the government of Syria. He's engaged, even as we speak, in some very delicate balancing of a variety of factors, diplomatic and political. I think it's important that all of us who are concerned about stability in the region, the outcome of the Middle East peace process, the successful reconstitution of a representative Iraqi government, support the Secretary at this delicate time". (Bolton's testimony has been vetted by the White House, hinting that those in the administration who favour a harder line on Syria had for now, at least, been edged aside by advocates of a more diplomacy-based approach. Syria again on Sept. 16 rejected US accusations that it backed terrorists and said it was prepared to meet any "reasonable" American request for help in the war on terror. But it also called for greater US understanding of Syrian and Arab realities). FM Sharaa says: "The Americans are now our neighbours (alluding to the US occupation of Iraq) and they should care for their neighbours and take into consideration the sensitivity of the Syrians and Arabs". He adds that Damascus is open to any "realistic" demand and favours dialogue "to handle all of the stagnant problems in bilateral relations", including the Arab-Israeli peace effort. (Bolton's testimony, also vetted by the CIA, is harshly critical of Syria on several counts including its occupation of Lebanon which he says must end). Following a Russia-Syria agreement on civil nuclear power, Bolton says, the US is continues "to watch for any sign of nuclear weapons activity or foreign assistance that could facilitate a Syrian nuclear weapons capability". He says there is "no information" that Syria had transferred any unconventional weapons to terrorist groups "or would permit such groups to acquire them". Nor has the Bush administration been able to confirm reports that Saddam secretly sent WMD to Syria "to hide them from UN inspectors and coalition forces". While Syria "permitted volunteers to pass into Iraq to attack and kill our service members during the war" and is continuing to do so, he says, "Damascus has increased its co-operation regarding Iraq since the fall of the Iraqi regime". (Some of the harshest anti-Syrian language came from members of the subcommittee. Most outspoken was the chairwoman, Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a Republican from Florida. Since 1989, she said, "Syria has increased, and indeed diversified, its weapons of mass destruction programs to present a serious threat to our allies and our interests in the region").