Syria: U.S., Europe to regret aid to foes

Terrorists stronger now,Assad says

BEIRUT - Syria’s president accused the West on Wednesday of backing al-Qaida in his country’s civil war, warning it will pay a price “in the heart” of Europe and the United States as the terror network becomes emboldened.

Bashar Assad also lashed out at Jordan for allowing “thousands” of fighters to enter Syria through its borders and warned that the “fire will not stop at Syria’s border.”

Assad participated in the rare TV interview with the government-run Al-Ikhbariya channel marking independence day as the his military was fighting to reverse rebel advances.

“Just as the West financed al-Qaida in Afghanistan in its beginnings, and later paid a heavy price, today it is supporting it in Syria, Libya and other places and will pay the price later in the heart of Europe and the United States,” Assad said.

He offered no evidence to back his charge that the U.S. was now backing the international terror group responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States.

Extremist groups such as the al-Qaida-affiliated Jabhat al-Nusra are gaining ground in Syria’s two-year civil war. Jabhat al-Nusra, or the Nusra Front, has emerged as the most effective force among the mosaic of rebel units fighting to topple Assad.

Last week, Nusra Front leader Abu Mohammad al-Gonali pledged allegiance to al-Qaida’s leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri.

Washington has designated Jabhat al-Nusra a terrorist organization over its links with al-Qaida. The Obama administration opposes directly arming Syrian opposition fighters, in part out of fear that the weapons could fall into the hands of Islamic extremists such as the Nusra Front.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told lawmakers Wednesday that military assistance to the Syrian opposition is an “option of last resort” that, at this time, could entangle the U.S. in a lengthy conflict.

“Military intervention at this point could hinder humanitarian operations,” Hagel said in remarks prepared for a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Syria. “It could embroil the United States in a significant, lengthy and uncertain military commitment,” strain international alliances and “have the unintended consequences of bringing the United States into a broader regional conflict or proxy war.”

The U.S. has provided about $117 million in nonlethal assistance, including communications and medical equipment, to the Syrian opposition so far, Hagel said. The U.S. is also the largest donor of humanitarian aid to Syria, having given $385 million for emergency medical care, food and shelter, he said.

On Wednesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov criticized a coming meeting of the Friends of Syria group in Istanbul - which brings together Western and Arab supporters of the Syrian opposition - and said efforts to isolate Assad and to arm the opposition were strengthening Islamic militants.

“If the priority is peace, changes and democratic reforms, it’s necessary to force the warring parties to sit down for talks. If Assad’s departure is the priority, the cost of such geopolitical approach will be more casualties,” Lavrov said.

The Syrian conflict began with largely peaceful protests demanding reforms and eventually turned into an insurgency and war in response to a brutal military crackdown on the protesters. More than 70,000 people have been killed, according to the United Nations.

In the hour-long interview, Assad also criticized Jordan, accusing it of allowing “thousands” of fighters to enter Syria across its borders.

His comments came after statements from U.S. and other Western and Arab officials that Jordan has been facilitating arms shipments and hosting training camps for Syrian rebels since last October.

On Wednesday, Hagel told Congress that the Pentagon is sending about 200 soldiers from a U.S. Army headquarters unit to Jordan to assist efforts to contain violence along the Syrian border and plan for any operations needed to ensure the safety of chemical weapons in Syria.

Information for this article was contributed by Zeina Karam, Bassem Mroue, Ryan Lucas and Peter James Spielmann of The Associated Press and by David Lerman of Bloomberg News.

Front Section, Pages 5 on 04/18/2013

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