US hawks hint at more pre-emptive strikes

Key members of the Bush administration are suggesting that Iraq may not be America's first and only target for pre-emptive action and more may be planned against Syria, Iran or North Korea.

The Syrians 'are doing some things they shouldn't be doing, and the sooner they stop, the better it will be for them', Deputy Defence Secretary Paul Wolfowitz told NBC TV.

While the US is now focused on Iraq, he said, "I think the Syrians need to know, though, that what they do now, they will be held accountable for.

"There has got to be change in Syria."

Political commentators and newspaper editorials suggest these threats should be taken seriously, though such a course may not be wise.

In West Asia and Europe, political and media commentary has shifted from gloating over the presumed humbling of America [by being forced to wage a war against Iraq without the approval of the UN Security Council] to speculation over which 'rogue States' -- Syria, Iran or North Korea -- will be the next target, The Washington Post commented editorially.

"Senior Bush administration officials," the newspaper noted, "have done little to quiet such fevered talk and, in the case of Syria, may have even encouraged it. If that worries the dictatorial regime in Damascus, which also has a record of supporting terrorism and stockpiling chemical weapons, perhaps the effect would be beneficial.

"Yet the best way to build on the success of the Iraqi military campaign will be not by threatening other regimes, but by allowing Iraqis to construct a government."