Syria says Israel Prodded US To Invade Iraq

Syria accused Israel Monday of devising "flimsy pretexts" to encourage the U.S.-led war against Iraq and deflect attention from its own policies in the region instead of pursuing peace. Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Sharaa, in a speech to the General Assembly, did not mention the assassination of a Hamas member in a car-bombing in the Syrian capital, Damascus, on Sunday. Israeli security sources have said Israel had a hand in the killing. Instead al-Sharaa accused lsrael of "inciting Americans, first, and then the West, to wage endless wars in the Middle East." The minister charged that Israel used its influence over what he described as strategic think-tanks to influence policy. He said a "wave of pessimism had taken over the world because of extremist and intolerant policies advanced by some strategic think-tanks" who were searching for a new enemy after the collapse of the Soviet Union. [more ]