“Who the hell do the Americans think they are? They are so predictable. Before the war, we all said the US would start in Iraq and then target other Arabs. And here we have it,” Egyptian doctor Noha said. “Who’s next after they destroy Syria? Egypt?”

Damascus denies charges it is harboring Iraqi leaders, seeking chemical weapons and sponsoring terrorism. A Cabinet statement yesterday said US “threats and falsifications” were prompted by Israel’s “goals and expansive greed”.

“Everyone in the region, and outside it too, questions these accusations,” political analyst Saleh Khathlan said on Saudi TV. “Iraq has fallen, and now it’s Syria’s turn.”

Morocco’s semi-official Le Matin newspaper wrote: “Like a steamroller, and only ... days after conquering Iraq, (US) President (George W.) Bush openly takes on Damascus.”

The Arab League said the accusations were not credible because US and British forces in Iraq had yet to find banned weapons there — despite waging war to unseat President Saddam Hussein and eliminate his alleged weapons of mass destruction.

Some Arabs also believe the charges are part of a US plot to control the region and say Israel may be the main beneficiary of Washington’s policies.

Lebanon’s Information Minister Ghazi Al-Aridi said yesterday the accusations were “further confirmation of the Zionist role in the American administration”, but added he doubted the United States would launch a military attack against its neighbor and political master Syria.

Egypt and Jordan, two close US allies and the only Arab states which have peace treaties with Israel, said on Monday that Arabs would work together to counter what they considered a threat to the region as a whole.

Egypt’s Al-Ahram daily said Arabs had to act fast, “not only for the sake of Syria, but also to stop the American plans which are advancing like a knife through butter”.

Saudi Arabia has also said it was concerned the war could spread.

Arab League spokesman Hesham Youssef told Reuters the charges would exacerbate tensions in the volatile region. “What is even more worrying is that Israel has entered into this situation. This is like throwing oil on a fire and makes the situation even more tense and precarious,” he said.

Saudi newspaper Al-Watan said Washington was targeting Syria because it refused to normalize relations with Israel or cede an inch of occupied land to the Zionist state.

Bahraini political activist Mohammed Abdullah Fakhro said “the aim of the United States’ move is to protect Israel”, while Manama businessman Issam Ishaq said Washington wanted to weaken Syria so Israel could threaten its capital Damascus.

Morocco’s leftist Al-Bayane paper accused Washington of double standards. “What is allowed for the Israeli state is not allowed for the others, mainly when they are Arabs, Muslims or states that reject what the US dictates,” it said. “We are confronted with a US-tailored new order, in the name of fighting terrorism (and pushing) US strategic interests and Israel’s security.”