Since the fall of Baghdad in April, American officials have scoured the globe in search of Saddam Hussein's legendary fortune. Now they think they have found a big chunk. According to a U.S. estimate, as much as $3 billion in Iraqi assets is sitting in Syrian government--controlled banks, a senior U.S. official tells TIME, and Washington is anxious to determine that the money is not funding violence against Americans in Iraq, or being drawn down by regime officials and supporters.
For months the U.S. has quietly insisted that Damascus give up the funds. Secretary of State Colin Powell met with Syrian...
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