Bush Administration to Impose Sanctions Against Syria Today, U.S. Lawmaker Says

By Mike Nartker
Global Security Newswire

WASHINGTON — The Bush administration is expected to announce punitive sanctions against Syria later today for failing to end its official support for terrorism and for its suspected WMD efforts, U.S. Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) told Global Security Newswire (see GSN, April 29).

Late last year, U.S. President George W. Bush signed the Syria Accountability Act into law after it was passed by wide margins in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. The law bans U.S. exports of dual-use items to Syria and requires the president to impose at least two additional sanctions from a list of six diplomatic and economic measures.  The act also allows the president to waive the penalties if they would interfere with U.S. national security interests. 

According to Ros-Lehtinen, one of the act’s chief sponsors in the House, the White House is expected to announce today which of the six additional sanctions will be imposed against Syria. She said that while she did not know exact details on which additional measures would be implemented, the administration might choose to impose more than the minimum. Citing administration and congressional sources, the Associated Press reported today that the White House was likely to impose three of the six sanctions included in the law — a ban on Syrian aircraft flying over or landing in the United States, a ban on new investments by U.S. oil companies and a ban on all U.S. exports to Syria except food and medicine.

The issue of the implementation of sanctions against Syria was briefly discussed near the end of yesterday’s White House press briefing. While refusing to provide details on when a decision would be made, White House press secretary Scott McClellan said that the administration is “moving forward with implementing” the act.

“We do have serious concerns when it comes to Syria’s behavior. We want to see Syria change their behavior. We have talked previously about our concerns when it comes to Syria's continued development of weapons of mass destruction, when it comes to their support for terrorism, and when it comes to their failure to adequately police its border with Iraq,” McClellan said. “These are serious matters.  We want to see Syria make more progress on these areas,” he added.

The U.S. State Department today refused to comment on when the sanctions would be implemented, referring inquiries to the White House.

Saying the sanctions would be imposed “no later than tomorrow,” Ros-Lehtinen today praised the Bush administration’s decision to fully implement the act, calling the move “welcome news” and saying that it sent a “good message to the entire neighborhood” of the Middle East that governments there would be held responsible for their actions. She criticized Syrian President Bashar Assad for being “clearly aligned” with terrorist groups such as Hezbollah.

Late last month, the State Department seemingly released mixed assessments of Syria’s record on terrorism. In its 2003 Patterns of Global Terrorism report, the department said that while Damascus continued to support several various militant groups, it also cooperated with the United States against al-Qaeda. During a press briefing held to release the report, however, State Department counterterrorism coordinator Cofer Black characterized Syria as “one of the leading state sponsors of terrorism.”

For its part, Damascus seemingly dismissed the potential impact of the U.S. sanctions, according to reports.

“All sanctions which would be imposed on Syria would be without effect, except on those who impose them,” Syrian Prime Minister Mohammed Naji Otri was quoted today by Agence France-Presse as having told the Arabic newspaper al-Hayat. “Syria is capable of resisting all foreign pressure” because it possesses “political independence which comes from economic independence,” he added.

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