Damascus: Bush trying to push Lebanon into Iraq-like crisis

"U.S. President George W. Bush's remarks last week that he has lost patience with the Syrian leader are "arrogant and bode ill" for the region, a Syrian newspaper said Monday, adding that the U.S. administration was attempting to push Lebanon into a crisis like in Iraq and Afghanistan.

An editorial in the state Tishrin daily, which reflects government thinking, said Bush's statements demonstrate that his administration is determined to end its term as it started, with "aggression, occupation and power.".....

Relations between Syria and the United States had appeared to warm briefly, following Syria's attendance of last month's Mideast peace conference in Annapolis, Maryland.

But both sides have since lashed out at one another, each accusing the other of meddling in Lebanese affairs......

"These arrogant and threatening statements point to more defeats by the Bush administration than anything else," the newspaper said. "They do not bode well for any rational U.S. policy or serious intention to handle the region's issues."

The newspaper accused Bush of seeking to push Lebanon toward anarchy, similar to Iraq and Afghanistan and claimed the American leader was determined to give Israel more support than it has gotten from any previous (U.S.) administration......."