AMMAN, Jordan, Dec. 19 � Protests against the bombing of Iraq roiled the Middle East today. In particularly violent incidents, mobs assaulted U.S. and British diplomatic buildings in Damascus, where Syrian guards and U.S. Marines rescued the wife of U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker as rioters broke into the couple's residence.

A State Department official said that Christine Crocker was safe but declined to give details about her escape or the whereabouts of embassy personnel. U.S. diplomats are especially concerned about security in the wake of terror attacks on embassies in Kenya and Tanzania this year.

The demonstrations unsettled a normally placid day for Muslims � the beginning of Ramadan, the holy month of fasting, feasting and prayer. Several Arab newspapers criticized the muted response of most Middle East governments to the scenes of destruction and injury in Baghdad.

Until today, protests largely had been peaceful, except in Palestinian towns in the Gaza Strip and West Bank. With demonstrations apparently taking a militant turn on the fourth and final day of bombing, the chances began to dim that the United States could expect any kind of Arab backing for much longer.

In Cairo, tacit support from one of Washington's chief Arab allies broke down. President Hosni Mubarak urged President Clinton to "end military operations on Iraq as quickly as possible in order to preserve the lives of the brotherly Iraqi people and to avoid further deterioration of conditions in the region," according to state television.

The Egyptians struck at the foundation for the bombing campaign by criticizing Richard Butler, the chief U.N. weapons inspector. His charges that Iraq had obstructed his search for nuclear, chemical and biological armaments provided the trigger for U.S. and British military action. "Butler made a mistake," said Foreign Minister Amr Moussa.

"With his actions, he has led to an escalation of the situation," he added. "We want the United States to continue to play its role in the Middle East region in a diplomatic way." Moussa's comments followed three days of anti-American demonstrations at Cairo's al-Azhar University.

Political demonstrations are rare in Syria under the iron rule of President Hafez Assad. But today, hundreds of youthful protesters surrounded the U.S. Embassy in Damascus and chanted: "Down with America" as they pelted the building with rocks, breaking some windows. A few demonstrators scaled the embassy walls and hauled down and burned the American flag.

U.S. Marine guards fired tear gas. Small crowds later assaulted the home of Crocker, the U.S. ambassador. A few score protesters broke into the residence and rampaged through an office and the kitchen, upending books and tossing furniture outside. Protesters also shattered the headlights and windows of Crocker's car. Someone produced a bra, wrote the name "Monica" on it and waved it to the jeering crowd.

A mob broke into an American school and the American Cultural Center. Others threw stones at the British Embassy and the British Council, which offers English-language classes and cultural programs. The State Department protested the Syrian failure to protect the buildings and occupants.

Syrian police had tried to use water cannons to break up the rioters, but protesters blocked their vehicle. In all, the unrest lasted about six hours, according to wire reports. About a dozen demonstrators were hospitalized to recover from the effects of tear gas.

The attacks coincided with a demonstration of thousands of Syrians in the ancient capital. Marchers carried banners that read: "The Syrian people are with you, our Iraqi brothers." Syria and Iraq long have been political rivals, but recently, Damascus has backed Iraq's call for an end to the eight-year-old U.N. trade embargo against Baghdad.

In the West Bank, Palestinian protesters clashed with Israeli troops near a Jewish settlement in Hebron. They hurled rocks, bottles and Molotov cocktails. Soldiers fired tear gas and back bullets that look like marbles.

In Amman today, about 2,000 students at the campus of Jordan University staged a protest against Operation Desert Fox, code name for the attack on Iraq. "Arab rulers, where are you?" they chanted, and carried signs bearing slogans such as "Clinton, thank you for your sympathy for us in Ramadan."

One slogan referred to the Clinton sex scandal: "The dignity of the nation and the people of Iraq and the blood of Muslims are not a price we pay for the eyes of Monica."

The students tried to burn a U.S. flag but it failed to ignite. Jordanian police blocked them from carrying their protest onto Amman's quiet streets. Security forces also kept close watch on other demonstrations outside mosques in the cities of Irbid and Maan.

Demonstrations also occurred in Yemen and Sudan and among Arab immigrant groups in Europe.

The sight of British and U.S. bombs exploding in an Arab capital prompted bitter commentary in Arab newspapers. Some criticized the impotence of Arab leaders in the face of a war going on under their noses. Egypt's opposition al-Wafd daily asked, "Arab rulers, where are you? Wake up . . . and regain your lost consciousness."

As-Safir, a Lebanese newspaper, said: "Arabs are the sandbags Washington uses for target practice." Another paper ran a cartoon of Clinton urinating missiles onto the heads of Arab leaders.

The coincidence of the bombing raids and the beginning of Ramadan also created a stream of anger in mosques. In Amman, Jordan, on the night before Ramadan began, Islamic politicians railed at Arab leaders for their inaction.

"Iraq is being slaughtered while they are looking on," said Hamzeh Mansour, a member of the Islamic Action Front.