Global Security Newswire

Voting 398-4, the U.S. House of Representatives yesterday voted passed a bill to enact economic sanctions against Syria if Damascus fails to end its alleged support for terrorism and its suspected efforts to develop weapons of mass destruction (see GSN, Oct. 9).

The bill, the Syria Accountability Act, is intended to send a “clear message” to Syrian President Bashar Assad, House Majority Leader Tom Delay (R-Texas) said yesterday.

“International sanctions have been levied against Syria for years, and Syria’s regime has only scoffed at them,” DeLay said. “But times have changed, and the heightened sanctions in this bill are just the beginning. Congress will be watching Syria’s every move and responding accordingly,” he added.

The lawmakers who opposed the bill said they were unsure that sanctions were the appropriate measure, according to the Washington Times.

“The history of unilateral economic sanctions is not encouraging. I’d rather increase, not diminish, the president’s flexibility to respond to Syria,” Representative Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) said last week (Stephen Dinan, Washington Times, Oct. 16).

Meanwhile, Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said today that he was “very happy” that the House approved the sanctions bill.

“The House of Representatives vote reflects a sea change in the international community and in the United States, which understands that the battle against terrorism must be global and target not just terrorist organizations but also the countries that aid them,” Shalom said (Agence France-Presse/SpaceWar.com, Oct. 16).