http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2006 ... ode=244B-1

Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2006 10:26 a.m. EDT

Syria President Assad Threatens War

Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad says his country is prepared for war with Israel and warned that the Golan Heights would be seized "by Syrian hands.”
In an interview with the Egyptian publication Al-Usbu after the ceasefire in Lebanon went into effect, Assad declared: "Syria has been prepared and ready since the first day of the war . . .
"We and the resistance (Hezbollah) read clearly that the day of confrontation was definitely approaching. The current war is five years old, and there were widespread preparations for this day.”
Assad said he is convinced that steps toward peace "have fallen off, and that the Golan will be liberated by Syrian hands.”
Asked what the expected results would be if Israel launched an attack against Syria, Assad said: "If Israel acts with adventurism and enters into a war with Syria, this will be the beginning of a heavy price that it will pay.”
Assad said Hezbollah’s conflict with Israel marks "a new stage in the history of [the Arab] nation, and he remarked ominously: "To this day no one in American intelligence or Israeli intelligence knows what the true capabilities of the resistance are.”
The Syrian government daily Al-Thawra claimed Hezbollah had achieved a military victory over Israel, which "forced the Americans to make huge diplomatic efforts aimed at preventing [the victory] from being translated into a new political reality.”
On Tuesday, Germany’s foreign minister abruptly canceled a planned visit to Syria after Assad gave a speech ridiculing Israel’s military offensive in Lebanon and warning against disarming Hezbollah.
Frank-Walter Steinmeier had already boarded a plane in Jordan for the flight to Syria when he canceled the trip, saying Assad’s speech was "going in completely the wrong direction” on the need for peace in the region.