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Bush Signs Syria Sanctions Bill Into Law, But Hints at Waiver By Mike Nartker WASHINGTON — U.S. President George W. Bush signed legislation Friday that calls for imposing economic sanctions against Syria if Damascus does not end its alleged WMD activities, but Bush said his signature should not be construed as accepting the law’s language as new U.S. policy, raising the possibility that he would quickly waive the sanctions (see GSN, Nov. 10). The Syria Accountability Act imposes a ban on U.S. exports of military and dual-use items to Syria and it requires the president to impose at least two more sanctions from a list of six specified in the law, including a complete ban of exports to Syria, a prohibition of U.S. businesses operating in Syria, restrictions on Syrian diplomats in the United States, limits on Syrian airline flights, a downgrading of U.S. diplomatic representation or a freeze on Syrian economic assets. The sanctions have been seen as likely to have more of a political effect because of relatively low value of U.S.-Syrian trade — about $300 million annually. The sanctions in the bill can only be lifted if the president can certify that four conditions are met, including an end to state support for terrorist groups, the withdrawal of all Syrian military and intelligence personnel from neighboring Lebanon and an end to Syrian development of biological and chemical weapons and medium- and long-range ballistic missiles. Last month, both houses of Congress voted overwhelmingly to approve the bill. At the White House’s insistence, however, Congress approved a provision in the final bill that gives the president the authority to waive both sets of sanctions — the dual-use export ban and the additional measures — if such a waiver were determined to be in U.S. security interests. In a terse statement Friday, Bush suggested that he would use his waiver authority. “My approval of the act does not constitute my adoption of the various statements of policy in the act as U.S. foreign policy. Given the Constitution’s commitment to the presidency of the authority to conduct the nation’s foreign affairs, the executive branch shall construe such policy statements as advisory, giving them the due weight that comity between the legislative and executive branches should require, to the extent consistent with U.S. foreign policy,” Bush said. Supporters of the bill in both houses of Congress have praised Bush’s decision to sign the legislation into law. “This is positive news for the international community. By signing this legislation, the president has addressed our concerns about the role Syria is playing in the Middle East. Syria is one of the most flagrant violators of international law, and for sponsoring terrorism. This law will now help the United States and its allies on holding Syria accountable for its illegal deeds,” Senator Rick Santorum (R-Penn.) said today in a statement. Representative Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.), one of the authors of the bill, called on Bush Saturday to not waive the sanctions. “It remains to be seen exactly how and which sanctions the President will choose to enforce,” Engel said in a statement. “President Bush needs to impose sanctions on Damascus immediately because Syria continues to destabilize the Middle East and support some of the deadliest terrorist groups in the world,” he added. On Saturday, Damascus criticized Bush for signing the bill, saying the measure would only serve as an obstacle to improved U.S.-Syrian relations. The bill will “increase tensions instead of searching for common denominators to achieve stability based on cooperation and joint interests,” the Associated Press quoted a commentary on the state-run Damascus Radio as saying. “The U.S. president’s signing of the ... act on the pretext that (Syria) supports terrorism, which it strongly condemns and is seriously cooperating to fight, adds a new obstacle in the way of improving Syrian-U.S. relations,” the commentary said.
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