U.S.: Syria Lets Militants Kill U.S. Forces in Iraq

Syria has failed to stop militants from crossing into Iraq to kill U.S. forces and it continues to pursue chemical and biological weapons programs, a leading Bush administration hawk said on Tuesday. U.S. Undersecretary of State John Bolton told Congress the United States must keep open the option of using “every tool” — code for the remote possibility of military action — to dissuade Syria and others from pursuing chemical, biological or nuclear weapons. While saying the United States had yet not found any information to substantiate media reports that Iraq might have transferred some of its suspected weapons of mass destruction to Syria, Bolton said Washington was concerned by the reports. U.S. allegations that Iraq was pursuing weapons of mass destruction were a key justification for the U.S.-led war on Iraq but Washington’s failure to find any since it toppled former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein in April has tarnished the Bush administration’s credibility. Full Story