Washington imposed sanctions on Shawkat in 2006 on suspicion that he orchestrated the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik al-Hariri and other officials seen as threats to Syrian influence. "Shawkat has been a key architect of Syria's domination of Lebanon, as well as a fundamental contributor to Syria's long-standing policy to foment terrorism against Israel," the U.S. Treasury said at the time. - Syria's shadowy enforcerDuring a December 26, 2008 meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al Maliki, according to one leaked State Department cable, General Petraeus explained “that the Syrians are playing a dangerous double game” with respect to the Iraqi insurgency. The cable summarizes Petraeus’s comments further: “While professing commitment to security cooperation, [the Syrians] turn a blind eye to AQI terrorist facilitation activity and they aid and abet Iran’s interference in Lebanon, Gaza, the West Bank, and elsewhere.” Petraeus pointed the finger of blame directly at Assad and Shawqat, who knew full well what al Qaeda was up to on Syrian soil.
In 2006, the Treasury Department designated Shawkat as a terrorist supporter, noting that he coordinated the activities of several terrorist groups: Hezbollah, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC), Hamas, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). - Blowback in Syria