Nation & World News
Legislation approved
to curb Syria’s sales,
suspected terrorists
The House International
Relations Committee voted
overwhelmingly in favor of
the Syria Accountability Act
By Frank Davies
Kni#it Ridder Newspapers (KRT)
WASHINGTON — In a sign of
growing U.S. pressure on Syria to stop
supporting terrorist groups, a key
committee in the House of Represen
tatives overwhelmingly approved leg
islation on Wednesday that would
impose sanctions on that country.
Hie House International Relations
Committee voted 33-2 in favor of the
Syria Accountability Act, and Majority
Leader Tom DeLay said the full
House could approve it next week.
The measure has more than 280 co
sponsors in the House, easily a majori
ty, and 76 of the 100 senators bade it.
The Senate Foreign Relations Commit
tee will hold a hearing on Syria later
this month, a spokesman said.
Until this week, the Bush adminis
tration had opposed the measure,
calling it a congressional intrusion
into foreign policy that could "tie the
hands" of U.S. officials.
But White House spokesman Scott
McClellan said on Wednesday that
the administration no longer op
posed the bill: "Syria is on the wrong
side in the war on terrorism. Syria
needs to change course, change its be
havior and stop harboring terrorists."
President Bush and other officials
also have dedined to condemn an Is
raeli air attack on an alleged terrorist
training camp in Syria, instead sup
porting Israel's right to defend itself
against terrorism.
The bill prohibits the sale of
weapons and weapons-related tech
nology to Syria and mandates that
the administration impose at least
two of a menu of six trade and diplo
matic sanctions on Syria if it doesn't
stop harboring terrorist groups, occu
pying parts of Lebanon and failing to
stop guerrillas from crossing its bor
der into Iraq to attack U S. forces.
"The time has come to hold Syria
accountable for its actions," said Rep.
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., a primary
sponsor of the bill.
Rep. Robert Wexler, a Florida De
mocrat who visited Damascus four
months ago, said he warned Syrian
President Bashar Assad that Congress
would act if Syria didn't change.
"This legislation will be a psycho
logical blow to Assad. For the first time
he will not be in control of the situa
tion, and he will feel a real conse
quence for their failures," Wexler said.
DeLay negotiated a deal with the
White House over the bill's language.
The administration has shown in
creasing impatience with Syria, capped
when Bush refused to criticize Israel's
airstrike on Sunday in Syria in retalia
tion for a suicide bombing on Satur
day by the Palestinian militant group
Islamic Jihad that killed 19 Israelis.
Other allegations also have been
made against Syria. L. Paul Bremer,
the U.S. administrator in Iraq, told
Congress recendy that about half the
278 foreign fighters who have been
captured in Iraq were from Syria or
held Syrian papers. U.S. Air Force
prosecutors have charged a translator,
Senior Airman Ahmad al Halabi,
with espionage, accusing the natural
ized U.S. citizen of collecdng secrets
from detainees at the Guantanamo
prison camp and passing them to his
native Syria.
(c) 2003, Knight Ridder/Tribune
Information Services.
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