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The Return of the Syria Accountability Act
NewsMax.com
Saturday, April 19, 2003
In 2002, well before the war in Iraq focused attention on Syria’s terrorist connections, Saddam sympathies, and military aid to the enemy, elements in the U.S. Congress were ready to unload sanctions on the Arab country. Now that stalled effort is back on track with new momentum spawned by a White House that is calling the Hezbollah- harboring country a “rogue nation.”
Last year, Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Penn., introduced the Syria Accountability Act -- only to see it languish as the Bush administration reportedly worked behind the scenes to quash it as a distraction from Iraq and as inappropriate considering Syria’s ostensible cooperation with the U.S. in ferreting out al-Qaida.
But Rep. Eliot L. Engel, D-N.Y., reintroduced the Syria Accountability Act in the House a week ago, remarking, "I just think it is really time to get tough with Syria."
The language in the Act’s “Findings” of fact leaves no doubt as to why there is a sense of Congress that it is time to get tough. Some of the highlights:
The Government of Syria has utilized the railway network linking Mosul, Iraq, to Aleppo, Syria , to transfer a wide range of weaponry and weapon systems to Iraq.
Syria, a nonpermanent United Nations Security Council member, has been receiving between 150,000 and 200,000 barrels of oil per day from Iraq at a substantial discount per barrel in violation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 661 and subsequent resolutions. Recent estimates indicate that as much as 230,000 barrels of oil per day were shipped from Iraq to Syria in March 2003, or up to 60,000 barrels per day more than in February 2003.
Syria already holds a stockpile of the nerve agent sarin but apparently is trying to develop more toxic and persistent nerve agents… It is highly probable that Syria also is developing an offensive biological weapons capability.
Syria maintains a ballistic missile and rocket force of hundreds of FROG rockets, Scuds, and SS-21 SRBMs , and Syria has developed chemical weapons warheads for its Scuds.
Syria continues to provide safehaven and logistics support to a number of terrorist groups. Ahmad Jibrils Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC), the Palestine Islamic Jihad (PIJ), Abu Musa's Fatah-the-Intifadah, George Habashs Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and HAMAS continue to maintain offices in Damascus.
More than 20,000 Syrian troops and security personnel occupy much of the sovereign territory of Lebanon, exerting undue influence upon its government and undermining its political independence. Since 1990 the Senate and House of Representatives have passed seven bills and resolutions, which call for the withdrawal of Syrian armed forces from Lebanon.
The Act goes on to suggest that:
Syria immediately and unconditionally halt support for terrorism, permanently and openly declare its total renunciation of all forms of terrorism, and close all terrorist offices and facilities in Syria.
Syria immediately declare its commitment to completely withdraw its armed forces, including military, paramilitary, and security forces, from Lebanon, and set a firm timetable for such withdrawal.
The government of Lebanon should deploy the Lebanese armed forces to all areas of Lebanon, including South Lebanon, in accordance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 520, in order to assert the sovereignty of the Lebanese state over all of its territory, and should evict all terrorist and foreign forces from southern Lebanon, including Hizballah and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards.
The Government of Syria should halt the development and deployment of medium and long range surface to surface ballistic missiles and cease the development and production of biological and chemical weapons.
The Government of Syria should halt illegal imports and transshipments of Iraqi oil and illegal sales and supplies of weapons and military-related equipment to Iraq and come into full compliance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 661 and subsequent relevant resolutions.
The Governments of Lebanon and Syria should enter into serious unconditional bilateral negotiations with the Government of Israel in order to realize a full and permanent peace.
Most significantly, the Act provides for the exercise of some or all of the penalties enumerated below – until such time as the President determines that Syria no longer provides support for international terrorist groups; has withdrawn all Syrian forces from Lebanon; has ceased the development and deployment of medium/long range missiles and the production of biological and chemical weapons; and is no longer in violation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 661.
The penalties:
Prohibit the export to Syria of any item, including the issuance of a license for the export of any item, on the United States Munitions List or Commerce Control List of dual-use items in the Export Administration Regulations.
Prohibit the export of products of the United States (other than food and medicine) to Syria.
Prohibit United States businesses from investing or operating in Syria.
Restrict Syrian diplomats in Washington, D.C., and at the United Nations in New York City, to travel only within a 25-mile radius of Washington, D.C., or the United Nations headquarters building, respectively.
Prohibit aircraft of any air carrier owned or controlled by Syria to take off from, land in, or over-fly the United States.
Reduce United States diplomatic contacts with Syria.
Block transactions in any property in which the Government of Syria has any interest, by any person, or with respect to any property, subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.
Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics:
War on Terrorism
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