Syria: U.S. Relations and Bilateral Issues Page: 3 of 19
View a full description of this report.
- Highlighting
- Highlighting On/Off
- Color:
- Adjust Image
- Rotate Left
- Rotate Right
- Brightness, Contrast, etc. (Experimental)
- Cropping Tool
- Download Sizes
- Preview all sizes/dimensions or...
- Download Thumbnail
- Download Small
- Download Medium
- Download Large
- High Resolution Files
- IIIF Image JSON
- IIIF Image URL
- Accessibility
- View Extracted Text
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
02-11-05
Syria: U.S. Relations and Bilateral Issues
SUMMARY
Syria, governed by President Hafiz
al-Asad from 1970 until his death in June
2000, is a prominent player in the Middle East
scene. Within the region, a number of border
disputes, problems of resource allocation, and
political rivalries have caused frequent ten-
sions between Syria and its neighbors. In
particular, the Syrian Golan Heights territory,
which Israel has occupied since 1967, has
been one of the most intractable issues in the
Arab-Israeli dispute.
Syria participated in U.S.-sponsored
bilateral peace talks with Israel between 1991
and 1996, when talks were suspended. A few
months after the election of Israeli Labor Party
leader Ehud Barak as Prime Minister of Israel,
Syrian-Israeli talks resumed brieflyunder U.S.
auspices in December 1999 and January 2000
but stalled again as the two sides disagreed
over the sequence of issues to be discussed. A
March 26, 2000 meeting in Geneva, Switzer-
land, between then Presidents Clinton and
Hafiz al-Asad failed to produce an agreement
on restarting the talks. Asad's successor and
son, President Bashar al-Asad, has expressed
support for the peace process but as not been
willing to make concessions on territorial
issues.
An array of bilateral issues continue to
affect relations between the United States and
Syria: the course of Arab-Israeli talks; ques-
tions of arms proliferation; Syrian connections
with terrorist activity; Syria's role in Leba-
non; and Syria's opposition to the U.S.
occupation in Iraq. A variety of U.S. legisla-tive provisions and executive directives pro-
hibit direct aid to Syria and restrict bilateral
trade relations between the two countries, due
largely to Syria's designation by the U.S. StateCongressional Research Service
Department as a sponsor of international
terrorism. Syria has reportedly cooperated
with the United States in investigating Osama
bin Laden's Al Qaeda organization in the
aftermath of the September 11 attacks but has
been unwilling to sever connections with
some other terrorist organizations. During a
visit to Damascus on May 3, 2003, U.S. Sec-
retary of State Colin Powell warned Syria to
withdraw support from terrorist organizations
and has repeated the warning since then.
Also, after Operation Iraqi Freedom began in
March 2003, senior U.S. officials warned
Syria to stop permitting transit of military
supplies and volunteer fighters through Syria
to Iraq. Syria denies these allegations.
On December 12, 2003, President Bush
signed the Syria Accountability Act, H.R.
1828, as P.L. 108-175. This act imposes
additional sanctions against Syria unless it
halts support for terrorism, withdraws troops
from Lebanon, ends its occupation of Leba-
non, ceases development of weapons of mass
destruction (WMD), and ceases support for
terrorist activity in Iraq. Subsequently, on
May 11, 2004, the President issued Executive
Order 13338 to implement the provisions of
this law.
The conference report (H.Rept. 108-792)
to the Foreign Operations Appropriations Act
(Division D of the Consolidated Appropria-
tions Act, 2005) contains a provision making
funds available for democracy, human rights,
and rule of law programs for Syria, but does
not set a dollar amount for these programs inthe case of Syria. President Bush signed the
bill as P.L. 108-447 on December 8, 2004.
4+ The Library of Congress M CRSIB92075
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This report can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Matching Search Results
View 19 places within this report that match your search.Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Report.
Prados, Alfred B. Syria: U.S. Relations and Bilateral Issues, report, February 11, 2005; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metacrs8537/m1/3/?q=%22Syria%22: accessed May 3, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.