Syrian envoy wants US, Israel to withdraw troops too

WASHINGTON, Thursday (Reuters) Syria's ambassador to Washington said he hoped the United States and Israel would follow his country's example and withdraw from Iraq and Palestinian areas, just as Syria was leaving Lebanon.

"We will withdraw (from Lebanon) as soon as possible, the sooner the better. And we are not talking of two or three months. We will do this very, very quickly," Syria's envoy Imad Moustapha said in a speech at Georgetown University.

"I hope this will inspire other countries in the Middle East to withdraw their occupations from Iraq and from Palestine and from Syria itself," he said.

"President Bush has many times spoken about making Iraq a model that will inspire the whole Arab world. ... I think the Arab people will love to see this (Syrian) model followed by the Americans and the Israelis."

Moustapha was critical of U.S. policies throughout his speech, saying many were hypocritical or dictated by Israel.

He also took a dig at the United States' detention of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

"I do not feel proud that Syria has political detainees just like you have in Guantanamo Bay, people who don't know what are they charged of, when will they ever be released, if they will be tried, and if they have access to their attorneys," he said.

"Our plans are by June 2005 not to have a single political prisoner in Syria. We want to make anything similar to your Guantanamo Bay a part of our past," Moustapha said.