"An attack on Syria seems to me unlikely, even if there are people in the United States who would like to see it," Holbrooke, ambassador during the presidency of Bill Clinton, said in an interview with Poland's leading daily Gazeta Wyborcza.

As the US-led war on Iraq draws to a close, the administration of US President George W. Bush has turned its attention to Syria, accusing it of state terrorism, developing weapons of mass destruction and harbouring fugitive officials from neighbouring Iraq.

Top Bush aides have stopped short of threatening military action, but said all options remained on the table and warned Damascus to take stock of the US-led rout of Saddam Hussein's regime.

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