SRES77sMAR11

TheWeekInCongress.com

Week Ending March 11, 2005

Senate Resolution 77 condemning all acts of terrorism in Lebanon and calling for the removal of Syrian troops from Lebanon and supporting the people of Lebanon in their quest for a truly democratic form of government.

Click flag for map and country data, Syria.

Click flag for map and country data, Lebanon.

BRIEF

A popular notion that Syria is somehow the center of terrorism support and an oppressor of democracy in that area of the Middle East is furthered by this Resolution that does little more than reiterate a disconnected series of events (or non-events) that are supposed to add up to compelling reasons to pressure Syria to withdraw its’ military from Lebanon.

Syrian troops entered Lebanon about thirty years ago on the invitation of what was then a Christian Lebanese majority at odds with the Muslim Lebanese minority. Now, the Christian Lebanese is the minority and do not want the Syrian troops there. Syria has agreed to remove its 14,000 or so troops but said it will do so over time as to not create further destabilization that might arise in their absence. Consequently, the Syrian “occupation” of Lebanon, like this Resolution, is something of a non-event.

Syria has been a strong supporter of the US in the Middle East including troop and intelligence support during the Gulf War and giving critical intelligence data on terrorists to the US early on in President Bush’s war on terror.

The President did opt to impose sanctions on Syria last year. He did so when it was believed that Syria was supporting terrorist who entered Iraq to wreak havoc. His option was to choose two out of six possibilities. He selected an embargo on items with duel military and non-military use and prohibited Syrian planes from landing on or taking off from US territory.

Sponsor: Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA)

Vote: Passed Senate by Unanimous Consent.

Cost to the taxpayers: No discernible cost.

MORE INFORMATION

S. Res. 77

Whereas since December 29, 1979, Syria has been designated a state sponsor of terrorism by the Secretary of State;

Whereas on December 12, 2003, the President signed the Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Restoration Act of 2003 (22 U.S.C. 2151 note), which declared the sense of Congress that the Government of Syria should halt its support for terrorism and withdraw its armed forces from Lebanon, endorsed efforts to secure meaningful change in Syria, and authorized the use of sanctions against Syria if the President determines that the Government of Syria has not met the performance criteria included in that Act;

Whereas the President has imposed the sanctions mandated by that Act, which prohibit the export to Syria of items on the United States Munitions List and the Commerce Control List, and has already imposed 2 of the 6 types of sanctions authorized by that Act, by prohibiting the export to Syria of products of the United States (other than food or medicine) and prohibiting aircraft of any air carrier owned or controlled by Syria to take off from or land in the United States;

Whereas the United Nations Secretary General, Kofi Annan, recently stated that Syria continues to maintain more than 14,000 troops in Lebanon;

Whereas United Nations Security Council Resolution 1559 (September 2, 2004) calls for the withdrawal of all foreign forces from Lebanon and for the disbanding and disarmament of all armed groups in Lebanon;

Whereas on February 14, 2005, the former Prime Minister of Lebanon, Rafik Hariri, and 18 others were assassinated in an act of terrorism in Beirut, Lebanon;

Whereas the Secretary of State recalled the United States Ambassador to Syria, Margaret Scobey, following the assassination of Rafik Hariri; and

Whereas, on February 28, 2005, the Prime Minister of Lebanon, Omar Karami, resigned, dissolving Lebanon's pro-Syrian Government: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the Senate--

(1) condemns all acts of terrorism against innocent people in Lebanon and around the world;

(2) condemns the continued presence of Syrian troops in Lebanon and calls for their immediate removal;

(3) urges the President to consider imposing additional sanctions on Syria under the Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Restoration Act of 2003 (22 U.S.C. 2151 note); and

(4) supports the people of Lebanon in their quest for a truly democratic form of government.

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