After lifting sanctions, Obama for second time seeks Syria's help against Al Qaida
Thursday, August 13, 2009 E-Mail this story Free Headline Alerts
WASHINGTON — The administration of Barack Obama is for the second time sending a delegation to Syria urging the arrest of Al Qaida operatives who seek to destabilize neighboring Iraq.
Officials said the administration expected greater U.S.-Syrian cooperation in wake of the White House decision to ease sanctions on the regime of President Bashar Assad. They said the decision would even enable Syria to import U.S. aerospace and security systems.
Officials said the Obama administration has submitted a list of Al Qaida operatives believed harbored in Syria since 2003. They said the list was relayed by a U.S. security delegation that arrived for talks with Syrian security commanders on Aug. 12.
The session was the second sent by the Obama administration since June 2009. The first delegation was comprised mostly of members from the military's U.S. Central Command.
"We have had concerns going back a number of years regarding the infiltration of foreign influences from the region through Syria into Iraq," State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said.
Officials said the U.S. list contains dozens of AQI operatives as well as suspected financiers from the former regime of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. They said Damascus has also allowed training of Iraqi Sunni insurgents in Syria.
"Several similar requests in previous years [for a security dialogue] were rejected by Syria because of the absence of the necessary political will for such cooperation," the Syrian government daily Al Watan said.
Officials said the latest delegation was comprised of senior officials including Frederick Hof, a representative of U.S. envoy George Mitchell and cited as a candidate for ambassador to Damascus. The delegation was headed by Maj. Gen. Michael Moeller from Central Command.
"I would expect that a significant topic of discussion will be, again, ongoing efforts by Syria to help stabilize the situation in Iraq," State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said.
"A significant topic of discussion will be, again, ongoing efforts by Syria to help stabilize the situation in Iraq," Crowley said.