7 (NNN): Coming down heavily on the Jewish state, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Tuesday accused Israel of trying to drag Syria and other countries in the region into a wider conflict to distract attention from the crisis in the Palestinian territories.
"(The raid) is an attempt by the Israeli Government to extract itself from its big crisis by trying to terrorise Syria and drag it and the region into other wars because this (Israeli) government is one of war and war is the justification for its existence," Bashar told international Arabic daily newspaper al-Hayat in an interview published on Tuesday.
"There is no doubt that Syria's role in various issues in our region is painful for this (Israeli) government.
What happened is a failed Israeli attempt to thwart this role, and we can say with all confidence that what happened will only make this role more effective in regional events," he added.
President Assad added that the US should stop blaming Syria for all its failures, including in Iraq.
The White House has refused to condemn the Israeli strike and accuses Damascus of being "on the wrong side of the war on terror".
Another dozen victims of the Haifa suicide bomb, among them members of two families, are to be buried in Israel later on Tuesday.
Of the 60 people wounded in the attack, 25 are still in hospital, Israel's Haaretz newspaper reports.
Earlier on Tuesday, Israel's military said an Israeli soldier had been killed in gun clashes across the border with Lebanon.
Military sources said the soldier was killed in an attack on a border patrol by the Lebanese militants Hezbollah near the town of Metulla on Monday.
The soldier was the first Israeli casualty on the northern border since August.
"Syria is responsible for what's happening here, by letting the terror groups act freely," said Major General Benny Gantz.
However, Hezbollah - backed by Syria and Iran - denied it was involved in the incident, while Lebanese officials said the shooting had not begun on their side, maintaining that Israeli troops fired at two vehicles on a road in the south of the country.
A UN official told Reuters that one of its water trucks had been hit by three bullets from the Israeli side.
No-one on the Lebanese side was hurt, said officials.
A four-year-old Lebanese boy died in the Lebanese village of Houla early on Tuesday, but it was unclear whether the explosion was caused by anti-aircraft fire or a missile aimed at Israel falling short of its target.
The Israeli army said that three shells were fired at its positions, and sent jets and helicopter gunships over the border on reconnaissance missions.
Tuesday's was the Syrian leader's first comments on the Israeli air strike near Damascus at the weekend that came after a draft resolution tabled by Syria to the UN Security Council on Monday following the Israeli raid was returned to Damascus for further consideration.
Tension has risen on the border between Lebanon and Israel after a firefight in which one Israeli soldier was killed, and a Lebanese boy was also killed when a missile fell on his house in a border village.
Israel said it targeted an alleged Palestinian militant camp in Syria in response to a suicide bomb attack on Saturday in the Israeli town of Haifa, which left 19 dead.
On its part Syria denies the target was a training camp and has called on the United Nations to condemn the Israeli action as "military aggression".
BUSH MAKES IRAQ EORGANISATION EFFORTS, RICE TO HEAD NEW GROUP Washington, Oct.
7 (NNN): President George W.
Bush has ordered a major reorganisation of American efforts to bring control to the Gulf nation by asking the Iraq Stabilisation Group (ISG), headed by National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, to give the White House a more direct role in the Pentagon-run reconstruction efforts.
According to the US officials here, the new group will not diminish Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's authority over attempts to bring stability to Iraq.
The latest move is intended to reassure Congress - currently considering a new budget request - that there is a senior White House figure who is dedicated to ensuring every American tax dollar is spent on Iraqi reconstruction.
Condoleezza Rice, who is already a key figure in Bush's Middle East planning, will head a group of representatives from the State Department, Defence and Treasury.
The group will coordinate efforts in four areas: counter-terrorism, economic issues, political institutions and communications.
President Bush said it would be a Washington support group for the US administrator in Iraq, Paul Bremer, and for the Pentagon.
"Condi's job and Condi's team is going to make sure that the efforts are - continue to be coordinated, so that we continue to make progress," Bush told a news conference.
The new group was formed in anticipation of congressional approval of up to $20 billion for reconstruction in the country, as part of an $87 billion spending package for Iraq and Afghanistan.
"The Pentagon remains the lead agency," said White House spokesman Scott McClellan.
"We want to, here in Washington, help assist the Pentagon and the Coalition Provisional Authority to put those resources to the best possible use," he added.
Meanwhile, North Carolina Democratic Senator John Edwards, running for his party's presidential nomination, said it was "appalling" that Bush "waited so long to take even this most basic step".
"It's about time President Bush tried to get his bureaucracy in order, but rearranging flow charts is no substitute for leading," he said.
American polls have shown a drop in confidence among Americans in the President's skill in handling crises.
However, Bush insists the picture in Iraq is better than the one being portrayed.
"The situation is improving on a daily basis in Iraq," he said, adding: "People are freer.
The security situation is getting better.
The infrastructure is getting better.
The schools are opening.
The hospitals are being modernised." About us | Advertisers | Other Publications | Subscriptions | Advertising Weather Weather | Letters | Search | Suggestions | Send Mail | Vaishnodevi ________________________________________________________ (c) 2003, The Kashmir Times Press Pvt.
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