U.S. disbands Syrian-Iran group

The Bush administration disbanded a committee that coordinated action against Iran and Syria. The interagency Iran-Syria Policy and Operations Group, established last year, was disbanded in March, according to a letter last week from Under Secretary of State Nicholas Burns to Sen. Robert Casey (D-Pa.) first reported Saturday by the Boston Globe. The committee coordinated support for opposition groups in both countries and strategies to financially isolate both nations. The Globe reported that the committee was disbanded because of the perception that it was promoting regime change in Syria and Iran, although its aim was to encourage change in the existing governments. The change comes at a time when the Bush administration is engaging senior figures in both governments as a way of containing the violence in Iraq.