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Raids in Syria and Pakistan suggest new US stance

Senior officials favour judicious use of the newly aggressive tactics seeing more upsides than down.

  • AP
  • Published: 21:16 October 28, 2008
  • Gulf News

Washington: Bold US raids into Pakistan and Syria show the stark choice the Bush administration is putting to both friends and adversaries in its final weeks: Clamp down on militants and terrorists or we'll do it for you.

Raids like the one in Syria on Sunday hold the potential to kill or capture wanted Al Qaida terrorists or other militants, but they also risk killing civilians and angering foreign governments and their citizens.

Selective US military action across the borders of nations friendly and unfriendly reflects increasing willingness to embrace what US commanders consider a last resort: violating the sovereignty of a nation with whom the US is not at war.

It's a demonstration of overt military strength that the US has been reluctant to display in public for fear it would backfire on US forces or supporters within the governments of the nations whose borders were breached.

Now, senior US officials favour judicious use of the newly aggressive tactics, seeing more upsides than down.

Reason

They reason that whatever diplomatic damage is done will be mitigated when Bush leaves office and a new president is inaugurated.

The raid in Syria also comes about a week before a presidential election that sees John McCain, the candidate of President George W. Bush's Republican Party, lagging behind Democrat Barack Obama. Such a show of strength could boost McCain's standing among some voters.

A new administration could, in fact, help mend fences with Syria, where the government has already said it is looking forward to a better relationship with the next US president, said Anthony Cordesman, a Middle East expert with the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.

In Pakistan, however, special operations raids could box in the new American president by inflaming an already outraged public.

"Public opinion is already very strongly against the US and 'anti' any US role or interference," Cordesman said. "It's not clear that you are not building up a broad public resistance that will bind the next administration," he added.

The Syria attack comes at a time when Damascus has been working to improve its image in the world.

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