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Bashing Bashar: A Plan of Action

(Weekly Standard) - Marc Ginsberg With regard to Syria, the U.S. administration seeks: An immediate end to support for jihadists and Hizballah members entering Iraq from Syria A full accounting and repatriation of senior Iraqi Baath party officials and members of Saddam's entourage who have been provided sanctuary in Syria Cessation of Syrian support for Hizballah and expulsion of terrorists from Syrian soil An agreement to end its weapons of mass destruction programs and accede to international nonproliferation accords There are several steps the administration should take to "shape the diplomatic battlefield" for Secretary of State Powell's forthcoming mission to Damascus: The Bush administration should reverse itself and support passage of the Syria Accountability Act which would impose economic sanctions on Syria for its continued support of terror and occupation of Lebanon. The Kirkuk pipeline, through which Syria illegally received over 200,000 barrels of Iraqi oil per day at half the world price, should be kept closed until Syria has complied with Washington's demands. The U.S. should end its silence about Syria's nearly 30-year control of Lebanon. Nothing would embarrass Damascus more than a U.S.-sponsored resolution before the UN General Assembly calling for the cessation of Syria's colonial rule. Finally, it is time to sanitize the Bekaa Valley, which has become a refuge for every major terrorist organization not headquartered in Damascus.
2003-04-22 00:00:00
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