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Bush slaps sanctions on Syria

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

WASHINGTON, MAY 12. The U.S. President, George W Bush, has slapped sanctions against Syria for supporting terrorism and standing in the way of the so-called stabilisation of Iraq. The White House has said that the punitive measures would include the banning of American exports with the exception of food and medicines, prohibiting Syrian aircraft from flying to and from the United States and the freezing of certain assets.

In addition to terrorism and the stabilisation of Iraq, the President's Executive Order also talks about Lebanon and Damascus pursuing with its weapons of mass destruction and missile programmes.

The White House, it is argued in some quarters, was forced to take the sanctions route as a result of relentless pressure from Congress where law makers have been very critical of that West Asian nation. The Bush administration was torn between the hardliners in its ranks who were saying that Damascus was not living up to its commitments on terrorism and weapons of mass destruction fronts; while others have stressed Syria's positive role in the war on terror.

The Republican administration was not exactly thrilled at the passage of the Syrian Accountability Act that cleared some five months ago by overwhelming margins in the House of Representatives and the Senate. Analysts are making the point that the Bush administration may have delayed action but was left with a deadline of sorts. "Despite many months of diplomatic efforts to convince the Government of Syria to change its behaviour, Syria has not taken significant, concrete steps to address the full range of U.S. concerns," Mr. Bush said in a message to Congress.

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