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12/20/2004:

"Bush Threatens Syria with New Pressure Over Iraq"

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush threatened on Monday to use new economic and diplomatic measures to pressure Syria over its suspected interference in Iraq before January elections.

``We have sent messages to the Syrians in the past and we will continue to do so. We have tools at our disposal -- a variety of tools, ranging from diplomatic tools to economic pressure. Nothing's taken off the table,'' Bush told a news conference.
Full Article: nytimes.com

Iraq bombers 'linked to Iran and Syria'
The Iraqi authorities arrested 50 suspects yesterday in connection with the suicide bombs that killed 67 people and injured 175 in the holy cities of Najaf and Karbala.

Claims by the police that some of those arrested had confessed to having links with Iranian and Syrian intelligence agencies will not sound convincing to Shia Iraqis who believe that the bombings were the work of Sunni fundamentalists.

Iraqis are now beginning to ask if they are slipping towards conflict between the country's Shia and Sunni communities. Walid al-Omar, a businessman from Basra in the Shia-dominated south, said: "The feelings of each community are becoming polarised. They have not quite reached boiling point yet but they might do so in future."
Full Article: independent.co.uk