US President George W. Bush said military action was a last resort with Syria and he hoped Damascus would cooperate with a probe into the killing of former Lebanese premier Rafik al-Hariri.“A military (option) is always the last choice of a president,” he told Al Arabiya television in an interview aired on Tuesday when asked about a UN investigation that implicated Syrian officials in the killing of Hariri. “I am hoping that they will cooperate. It (military action) is the last—the very last—option,” he said. “But on the other hand, you know I’ve worked hard for diplomacy and will continue to work the diplomatic angle on this issue.”Bush said Syria had to meet a set of demands from the international community, including expelling Palestinian militant groups, preventing insurgents from crossing its borders into Iraq to fight US forces, and ending Syrian interference in Lebanon. “Nobody wants there to be a confrontation. On the other hand, . this report had serious implications for Syria, and the Syrian government must take the demands of the free world very seriously.”
