Guardian Unlimited’s Brian Whitaker’s Symbolic in more ways than one:
The US defence secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, again threatened to escalate the Middle East conflict last night when he accused Iraq’s neighbour, Syria, of helping senior members of the Baghdad regime to escape. The US was getting “scraps of evidence” to this effect, Mr Rumsfeld added.
Many believe the “Syria-next” scenario to be improbable. For one thing, the Bush administration knows that an assault on Syria would merely polarize the Middle East further. And, perhaps more significantly, even Washington hardliners don’t really believe a war is needed to change Syrian behavior.
I’ve always been a big believer in recycling.
