US Democratic and Republican congressmen have agreed to revive a campaign to impose economic and diplomatic sanctions against Syria. The proposal signals an aggressive new American effort to force Syria to abandon its occupation of Lebanon, support of terrorism and suspected possession of weapons of unconventional weapons.
In an effort to ease tensions with the US, Syria moved Saturday, May 19, to ban the entrance of Iraqis without visas into the country.
Although the sanctions’ enjoy bipartisan support in the House and Senate, the United States has no plan to invade Syria, despite clear indications that Syria is developing weapons of mass destruction, US Secretary of State Colin Powell said in a television interview April 17. "As I have said previously, and President Bush has certainly indicated in his own remarks, there is no war plan on anyone's desk right now to
go marching on Syria," Powell said.
Powell said the reason why Syria is being highlighted now is that there is a "changed situation" and "a new dynamic" in the Middle East following the liberation of Iraq. "We wanted to point out strongly to the Syrians that this is a time for you to take another look at your policies," Powell said. He said he hopes to visit Syria in the near future for talks with Syrian
President Bashar Assad and Foreign Minister Farouk Shara.
The United States would like Syria to seal its border with Iraq to prevent fedayeen fighters and war material from moving into Iraq and to deny safe haven to members of toppled Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's regime, Powell said, quoted by the Washington File. He said if members of the Hussein regime turn up in Syria, Syrian authorities should send them back to Iraq to be tried for war crimes. — (menareport.com)
© 2003 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
