Dean: Bush Has Not Made Case for Military Action in Syria

This article is actually entitled Hart: No Decision Yet on White House Run, but it features this segment on Gov. Dean's statement that the case has not been made to take military action in Syria. From the reports that I have seen, very few people actually believe that the Bush administration would actually engage in armed conflict there. They have, however, been applying pressure on Syria and pushing the country with influence gained from the action in Iraq. Dean's comments may be more of a response towards fellow Democratic presidential candidate FL Sen. Bob Graham who suggested that the U.S. "throw a few cruise missiles" into Syria.

Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean said that although Syria has sponsored terrorism in the Middle East, the president hasn't begun to make the case for invasion.

Bush administration officials have accused Syria of sheltering Iraqi fugitives, possessing chemical weapons and supporting terrorism, but have emphasized there are no plans to go to war with Syria.

One of Dean's rivals for the Democratic nomination, Florida Sen. Bob Graham, has suggested the United States may have to "throw a few cruise missiles" into Syria. Another candidate, Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, has called for "very aggressive diplomacy" with Syria.

"The president attacked Iraq, in my view, without making the case that Iraq is a danger," Dean said after an appearance in Washington Tuesday night. "He certainly hasn't begun to make that case about Syria either. I think the notion that we just now are going to become a new empire is something that we ought to be thinking carefully about because it's way outside what mainstream American values are."