DPA on Friday quoted reliable sources as saying "the e-mail leaked a few days ago by Egypt to Syria reveals that the U.S. is ready to launch a wide-scale military offensive against Syria if (Damascus) holds onto its current position towards the Lebanese crisis."

"This is the main reason behind (the deployment of) the (USS Cole) destroyer off the Lebanese and Syrian coasts," the sources added.

A U.S. Navy official said earlier this week that USS Cole had been relieved by the guided missile destroyer USS Ors and the guided missile cruiser USS Philippine Sea.

Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters last week that the deployment should not be viewed as threatening or in response to events in any single country in the volatile region.

An Nahar daily, however, quoted on Saturday diplomatic sources as saying that "the American message delivered to Damascus means Syrian and Iranian domination on Lebanon is prohibited."

An Nahar also said that newspapers in the Gulf have reported that Russian and Iranian naval forces in the Mediterranean sea have been put on alert.

Syria put on Port Security Advisory List

Syria was placed on a so-called "Port Security Advisory List" amid "concerns about the connections between Syria and international terrorist organizations," the US State Department's deputy spokesman Tom Casey told reporters.

The decision puts pressure on businesses trading or shipping through Syria.

The move allows the US Coast Guard "to impose some additional port security measures to ships traveling to or arriving in US ports that have previously been either departing from Syria or have called on Syrian ports," Casey said.

The development marked yet another turn for the worse in a relationship that clearly started to sour again at the end of January when Casey said it was time for Syria to stop its alleged abuses of human rights and support for terrorism.

Washington had long complained of Syria's support for opponents of the Middle East peace talks, such as the radical Hamas movement in the Palestinian territories and the pro-Iranian Shiite Muslim group Hezbollah in Lebanon. Both organizations are considered by the US as terrorist groups

Sources: Naharnet, Ya Libnan

Share this Article:           
Feedback? We want to hear your thoughts!