Syria Collaborated
with Saddam’s Regime
by
Yoram Ettinger (Updated)
Intelligence
sources say that Syria received members of Saddam regime who fled
coalitions forces and that they have their own weapons of mass destruction
program. Now comes a bi-partisan bill, introduced by two of the
most experienced members of the House International Relations Committee,
ELIOT ENGEL (D-NY) and ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN (R-FL) to address some
of the threats that Syria poses to regional and global peace. Senators
Rick Santorum (R-PA) and Barbara Boxer (D-CA) will introduce the
bill in the Senate. You may want to share it with your own Congressman
and Senators.
Syria collaborated
with Saddam’s regime! It has hosted more global-reach anti-US terrorist
and narco-terrorist organizations (from Latin America, Asia, Europe
and the Mideast) than any other terrorist regime. In defiance of
international resolutions, it has ruthlessly occupied Lebanon, dismantling
its Christian government during the Oct. 1990 massacre of thousands
of Christian activists. It has established the Medellin East trail
of heroin, reaching all the way to US Inner Cities. Its track record
of human rights abuse pales that of Ceaucescu’s Romania. It has
collaborated with No. Korea, China, Iran and Russia in the proliferation
of weapons of mass destruction. It perfected the counterfeit of
$100 bills. More Americans were murdered by Syrian supported terrorists
than by Saddam and Qadaffi combined (Beirut 1983, PanAm-103 1988,
Khobar Towers 1996, etc.). For further data, plse see the Jerusalem
Cloakroom #83, 82, 77, 67, 63 at www.acpr.org.il).
In mid-April
Reps. Eliot Engel (D-NY) and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen(R-FL) announced
their action to keep U.S pressure on State Sponsors of Terror in
the Middle East and to Reintroduce the "Syria Accountability
and Lebanese
Sovereignty Restoration Act"
Reps. Eliot
Engel (D-NY) and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) announced they are introducing
the Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Restoration Act
of 2003 in the House of Representatives which holds Syria accountable
for its support for terrorism, occupation of Lebanon, and possession
and continued development of weapons of mass destruction.
"Now that
Saddam Hussein’s regime is defeated, it is time for America to get
serious about Syria, " said Rep. Engel, a member of the International
Relations Committee. "The Syria Accountability and Lebanese
Sovereignty Restoration Act is the first-step to addressing Syria’s
destabilizing role in the Middle East. The United States must not
tolerate Syria’s continued support of the most deadly terrorist
organizations in the world, its development of weapons of mass destruction,
and its occupation of Lebanon."
The Syria Accountability
Act is a comprehensive piece of legislation that gives the President
of the United States tools to impose penalties on Syria if the rogue
nation fails to correct its behavior immediately. Senators Barbara
Boxer (D-CA) and Rick Santorum (R-PA) will introduce companion legislation
in the Senate.
On March 30th,
Secretary of State Colin Powell said that, "Syria can continue
direct support for terrorist groups and the dying regime of Saddam
Hussein, or it can embark on a different and more hopeful course.
Either way, Syria bears the responsibility for its choices, and
for the consequences." Rep. Engel believes the Syria Accountability
and Lebanese Sovereignty Restoration Act of 2003 lays out what Damascus
must do to shed its rogue status or face what Secretary Powell described
as "consequences."
"On September
11th the equation changed and the United States can no longer afford
to sit by as countries like Syria harbor terrorists and occupy a
neighboring nation. America must send Syria a message that its policies
must change. The Syria Accountability Act is a measured, but straightforward
attempt to correct the behavior of the Assad regime," said
Rep. Engel.
Rep. Engel concluded,
"It is time for the Administration and Congress to get tough
with a charter member of the State Department’s list of state sponsors
of terrorism. Syria needs to get out of Lebanon, clean out the terrorists,
and stop building weapons of mass destruction. The Syria Accountability
and Lebanese Sovereignty Restoration Act is the right first-step."
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