USA VS SYRIA

SMH: Hearing delayed as CIA revolts over claims on Syrian threat

The CIA objected to a Bush Administration assessment of the threat posed by Syria's alleged weapons of mass destruction that was to be presented to Congress.

After the objections, Tuesday's planned testimony by an undersecretary of state, John Bolton, a leading Administration hawk, was delayed until September.

US officials said Mr Bolton had planned to tell a House of Representatives international relations subcommittee that Syria's development of biological, chemical and nuclear weapons had progressed to a point where they posed a threat to stability in the region. The CIA and other intelligence agencies said the assessment was exaggerated.