President George W. Bush recalled the US ambassador in Syria for urgent consultations following the killing of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri in Beirut, US officials said on Tuesday. The move is a sign of US displeasure over Syria's military presence in Lebanon, which the White House cited on Monday in condemning the assassination of Hariri. Bush has been steadily stepping up diplomatic pressure on Damascus for months and is considering imposing new sanctions.
State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said Bush summoned Ambassador Margaret Scobey back to the United States for "urgent consultations."
The White House has been consulting with the UN Security Council about taking punitive measures against those responsible for the killing in Beirut.
"It's too early to know who was responsible for this attack," White House spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters. But he said: "Syria's presence in Lebanon is a destabilising force. The terrorist attack further underscores the importance of letting the Lebanese people control their future."
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