The Bush administration had some harsh words for Syria Monday, warning the country not to harbor any fugitive Iraqi government officials.
White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer expressed concern that Syria not allow any fugitives into the country.
\We do know for certain that Iraqi officials have crossed the border and gone into Syria, and it's very important for Syria not to harbor those officials,"" he said during his daily briefing.
Fleischer would not say if military action in Syria had been ruled out, even though Britain recently stated that a war with Syria is explicitly not on the table.
When asked if Syria was America's next target in the war on terror, Fleischer responded negatively, stating that the reconstruction of Iraq is next on the United States target list.
""What's next is ... working with Iraqis, working with the international community, working with the coalition to rebuild Iraq,"" he said.
However, Najib Ghadbian, professor of political science at the University of Arkansas seemed hesitant to proclaim that former Iraqi officials had indeed fled to Syria, but he called on Syria not to accept them if the situation arises.
""At this moment, it's all accusations; I don't think it's in Syria's interest to continue to harbor any of these fugitives,"" he said.
Ghadbian expressed his faith in Syria's ability to reject Iraqi leaders at their borders.
""I expect that if they do come to Syria, Syria would ask them to leave right away, because they are a liability to the country... I think Syria is likely to be extremely careful in how they handle this issue,"" he said.
Diplomatic relations between Syria and the United States have been strained in the past few years, according to Kemal Karpat, a history professor at UW-Madison. While there have not been very many outstanding issues between the two countries, Syria recently angered the U.S. when it harbored the Kurdish terrorist leader Abdullah Ocalan until 1998. Intense pressure from Turkey convinced Syria to release him.
Because Syria released Ocalan, Karpat expressed belief that Syria could be swayed to release any Iraqi fugitives.
Syria is led by the young President Bashar al Assad, a former doctor who gained power after his father, Hafez Assad, died in June of 2000.
""When he came to inherit his father's position, he made a number of statements that he was going to liberalize the regime. He did nothing of the sort,"" Karpat said.
Syria has a single party regime, led by the Baath party; the same group that controlled Iraq under Saddam Hussein.
