Plans: Next, War on Syria?

Plans: Next, War on Syria?


Newsweek


Oct. 4 issue - Deep in the Pentagon, admirals and
generals are updating plans for possible U.S. military
action in Syria and Iran. The Defense Department unit
responsible for military planning for the two
troublesome countries is "busier than ever," an
administration official says. Some Bush advisers
characterize the work as merely an effort to revise
routine plans the Pentagon maintains for all
contingencies in light of the Iraq war. More skittish
bureaucrats say the updates are accompanied by a
revived campaign by administration conservatives and
neocons for more hard-line U.S. policies toward the
countries. (Syria is regarded as a major route for
jihadis entering Iraq, and Iran appears to be actively
pursuing nuclear weapons.) Even hard-liners
acknowledge that given the U.S. military commitment in
Iraq, a U.S. attack on either country would be an
unlikely last resort; covert action of some kind is
the favored route for Washington hard-liners who want
regime change in Damascus and Tehran.

Mark Hosenball

� 2004 Newsweek, Inc.