Global Security Newswire

U.S. President George W. Bush is expected this week to sign a bill that would impose economic sanctions against Syria unless it ends its alleged WMD activities and suspected official support for terrorist groups, according to the Boston Globe (see GSN, Nov. 21).

Bush is expected to sign the bill, which was overwhelmingly approved by both houses of Congress, before Saturday, Bush administration and congressional officials said yesterday. The bill would prohibit dual-use exports to Syria and would require the president to impose at least two of six additional sanctions laid out in the bill. Bush would have the authority, however, to waive the sanctions if such a move were determined to be in national security interests.

U.S. officials and analysts said the sanctions bill represents a new U.S. effort to impose pressure on Syria and that they believe that Bush would impose at least some of the sanctions included in the bill.

“(The Syrians) have not been cooperative and this gives the administration the ability to make a statement and levy some sort of sanctions and then ease sanctions when we get positive movement,” said Senator Rick Santorum (R-Penn.), one of the sponsors of the bill. “The president understands why we passed this bill and the importance of it,” he said (Bryan Bender, Boston Globe, Dec. 9).