"Syria Can Be Our Friend", Aref Assaf, Letter to the Editor,
Herald News,
April 23, 2003.
While the Bush administration seems to have toned down its recent hostile
rhetoric against Syria, two U.S. representatives are proposing a new bill that
is critical of the Syrian regime. The bill, HR-1828 and entitled "Syria
Accountability II and Lebanese Sovereignty Restoration Act of 2003," is an
updated version of legislation proposed last year. It holds Syria accountable
for the serious international security problems it has caused in the Middle
East.
This bill is shortsighted and should not be supported because parts, including
the section "Statement of Policy," appear to bypass the president's authority to
conduct U.S. foreign policy. Moreover, the bill would undermine the
administration's commitment to a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace in the
Middle East.
Finally, the bill appears to intentionally set the Syrian compliance standard so
high that it would force the president to severely undermine current U.S.-Syrian
relations and possibly jeopardize successful U.S.-Syrian cooperation in the war
against global terrorism.
Instead of singling out one country, Congress should endorse the creation of a
Middle East free of weapons of mass destruction. I firmly agree with Secretary
of State Colin Powell's April 15 statement that "it has always been U.S. policy
that we would like to see that whole region free of weapons of mass
destruction."
Aref Assaf
Denville,
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