The Bush administration is sharpening its rhetoric against Syria, demanding it stop sponsoring terrorism and harboring remnants of Saddam Hussein's Iraqi regime or face diplomatic or economic sanctions.

　　"It is time to sign on to a different kind of Middle East," US national security adviser Condoleezza Rice said on Monday as Syria took another public pasting from the administration.

　　US Secretary of State Colin Powell said Iraqis who have knowledge of weapons of mass destruction and Iraqi political leaders "are the kinds of individuals who should not be allowed to find safe haven in Syria.

　　"And this is a point we have made to the Syrians directly and will continue to make to the Syrians."

　　"They should review their actions and their behavior, not only with respect to who gets haven in Syria and weapons of mass destruction, but especially the support of terrorist activity," Powell declared. Raising the threat of punishment, he said, "We will examine possible measures of a diplomatic, economic or other nature as we move forward. ... We'll see how things unfold."

　　In New York, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said he was "concerned that recent statements directed at Syria should not con-tribute to a wider destabilization in a region already affected heavily by the war in Iraq."

　　Syrian officials deniedshavingschemical weapons and said the United States has yet to prove similar charges against Iraq. They also accused Israel of spreading misinformation about Syria.

　　White House spokesman Ari Fleischer rejected those denials, calling Syria a rogue nation and saying it is "well corroborated" that Iraq's neighbor has a chemical weapons program. "Syria needs to cooperate," he said.

　　Rice said Syria's support for terrorism and "harboring the remnants of the Iraqi regime" were unacceptable.