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U.S. Senate Backs Slapping Sanctions On Syria
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"It
is in their interest to recalculate their approach towards the
United States," Lugar
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WASHINGTON,
November 12 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - The U.S. upper house of
Congress on Tuesday, November 11, overwhelmingly backed a bill to
impose economic and diplomatic sanctions on Syria, claiming that the
Arab country had harbored "terrorism" and
"occupied" Lebanese territories.
The
Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Act also alleges Syria
is seeking to obtain nuclear, biological and chemical weapons, same
argument that was used by the U.S. President George Bush as a pretext
to invade and occupy Iraq without U.N. authorization.
Approved
89 to 4, the measure gives the White House a range of options for
sanctioning Syria, from restricting U.S. exports and business
investment to downgrading Washington's diplomatic representation and
imposing travel restrictions on Syrian diplomats in the United States,
reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).
The
bill also bans the exportation of "dual-use" technology, and
allows the U.S. government to freeze the Syria's assets in the United
States and restrict overflight rights for Syrian aircraft inside U.S.
airspace.
"This
bill ... adds to the tools available to the president to move Syria
toward a more responsible course," said Senator Richard Lugar,
chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, on the Senate floor.
Lugar
said the new sanctions could force Damascus to shift its policy and
take a more "conciliatory posture" toward Washington.
"Even
as we tighten restrictions on Syria, we should be emphasizing to the
Syrians why it is in their interest to recalculate their approach
towards the United States," the Indiana Republican said.
While
the measure accuses Syria of "occupying" Lebanese
territories, the Bush administration used its veto power to curtail
U.N. moves to condemn Israel for 26 times. The last one was used on
October 15 against a Syrian-proposed draft resolution condemning the
Israeli wall.
Palestinian
territories have been under the yoke of Israeli occupation since 1948.
In June 1967, Israel occupied Al-Quds (Jerusalem) and the Golan
Heights from Syria, a move condemned by the United Nations General
Assembly.
"Syria
shares a 400-mile (650-kilometer) border with Iraq. With more than
135,000 U.S. troops deployed in Iraq, Syria needs to reconsider where
its future security interests lie," said Lugar.
Senator
Sam Brownback, a longtime critic of Damascus, said the time for
negotiation is over, and advocated that the administration quickly
move to put the bill into effect.
"They
should use these sanctions to the strongest degree possible,"
Brownback told reporters Tuesday.
President
George W. Bush last month ended two years of opposition to the
legislation, and indicated he would sign it.
Accordingly,
the House of Representatives approved
the measure last month by a vote of 398 to five.
Now
after the approval of U.S. Congress, the measure could be signed into
law by President Bush.
The
BBC News Online said that the biggest losers could be American
companies who have been recently contracted by Damascus to explore for
oil.
The
British broadcaster put at $150m a year the trade volume between
Syrian and the U.S., adding that Damascus receives no U.S. foreign
aid.
'Military
Intervention'
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"Such
insinuations can only build the case for military action against
Syria," Byrd
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But
West Virginia's Robert Byrd, who along with three others senators
voted against the measure, said that while he is critical of Damascus,
he feared the vote "could later be used to build a case for a
military intervention against Syria."
"The
bill speaks of 'hostile actions' by Syria against U.S.-led forces in
Iraq," said Byrd.
"I
have not seen any evidence that would lead me to believe that it is
the government of Syria that is responsible for the attacks against
our troops in Iraq," the West Virginia Democrat said.
"Such
insinuations can only build the case for military action against
Syria, which, unfortunately, is a very real possibility because of the
dangerous doctrine of pre-emption created by the (George W.) Bush
administration," said Byrd, an outspoken critic of U.S. Middle
East policy, particularly in Iraq.
Before
the voting session, Byrd said that a vote in favor of sanctions
"could too easily be used to imply congressional support for
pre-emptive military action against a rogue state."
"I
will vote against this bill because of that dangerous course that it
may portend," Byrd said.
The
bill is facing strong opposition in the Arab world and the European
Union, who had blasted
the measure as a further escalation of the already volatile situation
in the Middle East.
For
it part, Syria
said Wednesday it was being punished for its support for the
Palestinians.
"The
Senate voted as expected for economic and diplomatic sanctions against
Syria because
of its support for the resistance of the Palestinian people against
the Israeli occupation," the official news agency SANA said.
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