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White House to delay Syria sanctions-sources
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-03-26 08:35 The Bush administration has
decided to delay new sanctions against Syria for backing anti-Israel militants,
citing concerns about rising tensions in the region, and congressional sources
said on Thursday.
U.S. President Bush had planned as early as this week to curb future
investments by American energy firms in Syria and prohibit Syrian aircraft from
flying into the United States.
Bush was also expected either to block transactions involving the Syrian
government or ban exports to Syria of U.S. products other than food and
medicine, the sources said.
"The situation on the ground in the Middle East warrants that the
announcement be postponed," said one congressional source briefed by the
administration.
The sources said the sanctions were now likely to be delayed until mid-April,
underscoring U.S. and international concerns their imposition could exacerbate
tensions in the region following the assassination of Hamas leader Ahmed Yassin
by Israeli forces.
Bush said on Tuesday that he plans to send a delegation to the region next
week to "see if we can't keep the (peace) process alive." The U.S. team will be
led by deputy national security adviser Stephen Hadley, National Security
Council Middle East chief Elliot Abrams and Assistant Secretary of State William
Burns, officials said.
Administration officials said Bush was not backing away from the sanctions,
under legislation he signed into law in December known as the Syria
Accountability Act. They said the decision to impose them had been made, but the
timing was in flux.
ACCOUNTABILITY ACT
The Syria Accountability Act offers Bush a menu of sanctions to punish
Damascus for backing "terrorism," failing to stop anti-U.S. fighters from
crossing into Iraq from Syrian soil, developing chemical and perhaps biological
weapons, and keeping troops in Lebanon.
Syria denies giving more than political support to militants it says are
fighting Israeli occupation.
Syria, still formally at war with Israel, has not admitted having
unconventional arms, but says it has a right to defend itself against the Jewish
state and its alleged nuclear arsenal.
Congressional sources briefed by the administration said the White House
plans to clamp down on new licenses to prohibit U.S. energy companies from
making future investments without disrupting existing projects.
Under the flight restrictions, aircraft of any air carrier owned or
controlled by Syria would be prohibited from taking off from, landing in, or
flying over the United States. The move would be largely symbolic since Syrian
planes do not now fly to the United States.
With trade between the two countries a modest $300 million or less annually,
the new sanctions would have more political than economic effect.
Last month ConocoPhillips, the No. 3 U.S. oil company, announced that it
would end its operations in Syria.
Devon Energy Corp. has a four-year lease to drill for oil on land in
northeastern Syria. Exxon Mobil Corp., which has operated in Syria for over 50
years, has a stake in a lubricants-related joint venture and sells a limited
volume of chemicals. Both firm said they would comply with any new U.S. rules.
The proposed penalties against Syria stand in stark contrast to the White
House's decision to ease sanctions on Libya as a reward for scrapping its
nuclear arms programs. Bush has seized on Libya's pledge to abandon weapons
programs as an example for other countries, including Syria.
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