ASHINGTON, April 17 — Lawmakers in both parties say they will renew a push for economic and diplomatic penalties against Syria when Congress returns at the end of the month, reviving proposals resisted by the White House last year.Posted on 04/18/2003 12:07:06 AM PDT by kattracks
ASHINGTON, April 17 — Lawmakers in both parties say they will renew a push for economic and diplomatic penalties against Syria when Congress returns at the end of the month, reviving proposals resisted by the White House last year.
The lawmakers said they did not envision any immediate military action against Syria. But they said the legislation, which has bipartisan support in the House and Senate, would provide the framework for an aggressive new effort to force Syria to abandon its occupation of Lebanon, support of terrorism and suspected possession of unconventional weapons.
"I just think it is really time to get tough with Syria," said Representative Eliot L. Engel, Democrat of New York, who reintroduced the Syria Accountability Act in the House just before Congress recessed last week.
Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, a member of the Republican leadership, said he believed that the Bush administration's quick transition to complaints against Syria should provide impetus for a similar measure he introduced last year with Senator Barbara Boxer, Democrat of California.
"There is a sense that Syria is a very bad actor," said Mr. Santorum, who said the administration's recent criticism of Syria had brought that country's activities "foursquare into focus."
Many of the Congressional supporters of the steps to penalize Syria are also strong allies of Israel, though they say the attempt to act against Syria, while potentially helpful to Israel, is part of a broader antiterror campaign.
Syria has adamantly denied that it possesses germ, gas or nuclear arsenals and has questioned the motives of the United States for its tough criticism, saying it is tied to support for Israel.
Today, the Syrian foreign minister, Farouk al-Sharaa, reiterated his government's willingness to allow weapons inspections if they applied to all nations in the region, including Israel, which is widely believed to have nuclear arms.
Under the House proposal, Syria would be held accountable for any attacks committed by Hezbollah, a Lebanese group backed by Iran and Syria. The proposal would also find Syria in violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions because of its occupation of Lebanon.
The measure also states that Syria's "acquisition of weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs threatens the security of the Middle East and the national security interests of the United States."
The proposal would prohibit United States exports to Syria other than food and medicine, halt American investment, freeze Syrian assets in the United States, restrict Syrian diplomats and reduce diplomatic contacts between the United States and Syria.
Sponsors of the proposal said the administration worked behind the scenes against the plan last year, arguing that it would distract from the effort against Iraq and that Syria was cooperating in the hunt for terrorists.
"Anything that would take full attention away from Iraq they frowned upon," Mr. Engel said.
How the White House, which has called Syria a rogue nation, will respond to the renewed push is uncertain.
But officials on Capitol Hill said the Bush administration might resist the effort by Congress to get too deeply involved in policy regarding Syria, limiting the administration's flexibility.
Aides said a new proposal was being drafted in the Senate and suggested that the language might be softened from the House version.
Aides to Ms. Boxer, who opposed giving President Bush authority to act unilaterally against Iraq, said she remained supportive of the Syrian effort and saw it as a means to apply diplomatic pressure, not a step toward military conflict.
Congressional Democrats have expressed unease about the administration's intentions toward Syria.
"America cannot go to war nor should it go to war with the world," said Representative Steny H. Hoyer of Maryland, the House Democratic whip, though he said he believed that Syria needed to make major changes in its policies.
Authors of the Syrian penalties say they would oppose any rush to military intervention in that country.
"I don't think you can go from step 1 to step 10," Mr. Engel said. "We should not be invading."
"But I just never understood the complacency with which we acted toward Syria," he added.
Mr. Santorum said the legislation could lay the groundwork for more serious action should Syria not respond to the American demands. He observed that the United States pursued diplomatic solutions against Iraq for 12 years.
"My guess is it will not take us 12 years with Syria," he said.
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