Rumsfeld Warns Iraq's Neighbors Against Aiding Zarqawi

The NY Times:

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld delivered a warning to Iraq's neighbors today, declaring that any country offering aid to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq, would be guilty of helping someone "with blood on his hands." READ MORE

In a news briefing at which he vigorously defended United States policy in Iraq and American treatment of detainees, Mr. Rumsfeld said Mr. Zarqawi, who was reported to have been wounded recently, was probably in Iraq.

"Were a neighboring country to take him in and provide medical assistance or haven for him, they obviously would be associating themselves with a major linkage in the Al Qaeda network," Mr. Rumsfeld said, in what seemed to be a veiled threat to Syria.

Mr. Rumsfeld did not mention Syria by name, but the Bush administration has complained bitterly that Syria is not doing enough to stop men and money from flowing into Iraq to aid the insurgency there. Moreover, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Richard B. Myers, said that Mr. Zarqawi, who is believed to have been wounded recently, is probably "in western Iraq, near the Syrian border."

Besides Syria, Iraq borders Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Turkey and Saudi Arabia. The Sunday Times of London this week, citing an insurgent commander it did not name, said that Mr. Zarqawi might have sought medical attention in Iran. Tehran denied the report.

When asked if there would be consequences for any country aiding Mr. Zarqawi, a Jordanian who is believed to be behind numerous kidnappings and beheadings in Iraq, Mr. Rumsfeld replied somewhat obliquely.

"Oh, I think what I said was fairly clear," he said, adding that any country providing medical aid or haven "to a leading terrorist" would be contributing to the deaths of many people.

"And that's something that people would want to take note of," the secretary said.

President Bush's chief spokesman, Scott McClellan, refused to go beyond Mr. Rumsfeld's remarks after being asked if the White House believed Syria was aiding Mr. Zarqawi. "We continue to have concerns when it comes to Syria, and Syria allowing its territory to be used by those who seek to carry out attacks inside Iraq, and we've expressed those concerns," Mr. McClellan said. ...