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U.S. Congress Completes Work on Syria Sanctions Bill By Mike Nartker WASHINGTON — The U.S. Congress yesterday completed passage of a bill that would impose economic sanctions against Syria if it fails to end its suspected WMD activities and alleged support for terrorist organizations (see GSN, Nov. 12). The House of Representatives yesterday voted 408-8 to approve a version of the Syria Accountability Act that was passed earlier this month by the Senate. The measure now moves to U.S. President George W. Bush for his signature. The bill would prohibit U.S. military and dual-use exports to Syria and would also require the president to impose at least two of six additional sanctions included in the bill, such as a freeze of Syrian assets and a prohibition on U.S. businesses operating in Syria. The sanctions could only be lifted if the president certified that four conditions were met, including that Syria no longer provides support for terrorism and that Damascus had ceased the development of biological and chemical weapons. The bill passed yesterday would grant the president the authority to waive both the dual-use export ban and the additional sanctions for national security reasons. In approving the measure, the House abandoned a provision granting the president the authority to waive only the additional six sanctions. Representative Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.), the bill’s main sponsor, yesterday called on Bush to sign the legislation into law. “This is a fair approach to dealing with the threat that Syria poses to the stability of the Middle East and to American interests around the world. For decades, the United States has not imposed sanctions on Syria in the hope that the nation would change its destabilizing ways. But it has become all too clear that things are getting worse and Damascus continues to undermine international peace and stability,” Engel said. Officials at the Syrian Embassy in Washington could not be reached today for comment. Syrian Information Minister Ahmad al-Hassan said last week, however, that Damascus would attempt to maintain a dialogue with the United States, despite the sanctions bill (see GSN, Nov. 13). “Syria will not close the door on dialogue with the American administration, even if the hawks in that administration want to push for escalation in an unjustifiable way,” al-Hassan was quoted as saying in a statement by Agence France-Presse. During the Senate debate on the bill, Senator Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.), one of only four senators to vote against the bill, said he opposed the measure because of concerns that it could lead to U.S. military action against Damascus. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) yesterday, however, discounted such concerns. “This bill in no way threatens or condones the use of military force against Syria. But it makes clear that the United States will not conduct business as usual with a nation that allows terrorists to operate within their borders. I hope that the president will swiftly sign this bill,” she said.
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