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U.S. Reluctant to Take a Hard Line with Damascus
(Ha'aretz) Nathan Guttman - Discussions on the Syrian Accountability Act by the U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee have been postponed by a week at the request of the Bush administration. The proposed law will necessitate sanctions on Syria if it continues to support terror organizations, specifically Hizballah, just when the U.S. is focusing its efforts on an assault on Iraq. In June, Syria gave the U.S. information gathered from a senior al Qaeda member who had been extradited by Morocco to Syria. According to U.S. reports, the information pertained to al Qaeda plans to carry out terror attacks against American soldiers in the Gulf. However, intelligence sources say the stream of information from Damascus to Washington has dried up of late, and the level of cooperation with Syria on al Qaeda is no longer significant. Sources in Washington also note Damascus' refusal to respond favorably to U.S. requests to restrain Hizballah (Vice President Richard Cheney's personal request to Assad was ignored), information about al Qaeda members taking refuge in Lebanon's refugee camps, and Syrian cooperation with Iraq. According to several reports, Syria's Latakia port became a central route for transferring weapons and equipment from eastern Europe to Iraq, in violation of UN sanctions. Syria is also purchasing oil from Iraq in violation of the terms set by the UN for the "Oil for Food" program. America is concerned about a flare-up on Israel's northern border that would endanger stability in the region on the eve of a U.S.-led attack on Iraq, but has also not forogotten that Hizballah was responsible for attacks against U.S. soldiers and civilians in Lebanon. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs David Satterfield has asked European leaders to add Hizballah to the EU list of terror organizations. Syria must choose the right side in the war on terror by closing down terrorist camps and expelling terrorist organizations, President Bush said in his Mideast speech on June 24, a speech that was condemned by Damascus.