US eyes second-tier threats in terror war

The "axis of evil" is back - and in expanded form. Anticipated congressional action against Syria this week is just one sign that the US plans to keep up the pressure on countries it places on the wrong side in the war on terror.

The triad of WMD-seeking states that President Bush first targeted in his January 2002 State of the Union address no longer includes Iraq. But the club otherwise made up of North Korea and Iran has grown to include Syria, Libya, and Cuba, in the administration's eyes, as it seeks to keep the nation and the world focused on the dual threats of weapons proliferation and state-sponsored terrorism.

Some experts see the new club members as minor threats compared to the original three - one former US official calls them "the ladies' auxiliary of the axis of evil." But the Bush administration is showing lack of patience with any state tolerance of terrorism, while making clear its determination to see development of and trading in weapons of mass destruction stopped. Some recent examples:

• With the administration dropping its opposition, stiff new sanctions against Iraq's neighbor Syria are likely to win House approval this week and a Senate nod after that. Called the Syria Accountability Act, the legislation would impose new sanctions against a country that has long been on the US list of state sponsors of terrorism - but which has also aided the US in efforts against Al Qaeda.

• John Bolton, undersecretary of state for arms control, has linked several states - including Syria - with the charter members of the axis of evil. In remarks last week at the American Embassy in London, Mr. Bolton said, "We're now turning our attention to Iran, Syria, Libya, and Cuba."

• The White House on Friday announced new travel restrictions and other measures against Cuba, which it accuses of pursuing biological and chemical weapons programs.

The stepped-up action against states like Syria and Cuba represents both new terror concerns and White House electoral interests, some analysts say.

Syria, for example, is getting new attention because of growing indications that it has allowed Arabs set on fighting a jihad against the US to filter into next-door neighbor Iraq. The longer-standing issue the US has with Syria is the haven it provides to Palestinian groups that continue to carry out violence and terrorist acts against Israel.

But at the same time the legislation targeting Syria has the strong support of pro-Israel lobbying groups that are very influential with Jewish voters. Similarly, measures aimed at Fidel Castro's Cuba play well with Cuban-American voters in key states like Florida.

Yet these latest targets in the war on terror aren't likely to raise the alarms - or level of action - that the original three "axis" members did, experts say, primarily because they are not growing nuclear threats.

Page: 1 | 2