Tuesday, February 7, 2012

U.N. victory may push Syria's Assad into unwinnable war

Syria - United States relations are the bilateral relations between Syria and the United States. Relations have often been tense throughout the years. Priority issues between the two states include the Arab-Israeli Conflict, the Golan Heights annexation, and the Iraq War.

Background of political relations

1835-1957

The official relations began in 1835 when the United States first appointed U.S. consuls to Aleppo which was then a part of the Ottoman Empire. After Syrian independence was declared in 1941 the United States would establish a consulate in Damascus. On September 7, 1944, the United States recognized an independent Syria, appointing George Wadsworth to the diplomatic mission.

1957-1990

As a result of a failed 1957 Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) coup attempt to topple Syrian President Adib Shishakli, Syria asked US Ambassador James S. Moose to leave Damascus. In return Syrian Ambassador Faris Zain Al-Din was called back to Syria. Later, U.S.?Syrian relations were severed again in 1967 after the Israeli-Arab War which resulted in Israel's occupation of the Golan Heights. Following the achievement of the Syrian-Israeli disengagement agreement, relations resumed in June 1974, and, afterwards, U.S. President Richard Nixon visited Damascus on an official trip.

1990-2000

During the Gulf War in 1990-91, Syria cooperated with the United States as a member of the multinational coalition of forces. The U.S. and Syria also consulted closely on the Taif Accord, ending the civil war in Lebanon. In 1991, Syrian President Hafez al-Assad made a historic decision to accept then President Bush's invitation to attend a Middle East peace conference and to engage in subsequent bilateral negotiations with Israel. Syria improved its relations with the United States by securing the release of Western hostages held in Lebanon and lifting the travel restrictions on Syrian Jews. Throughout the Clinton Administration there were multiple attempts to engage al-Assad in Middle East Peace Negotiations. These include several presidential summits; the last one occurred when then-President Bill Clinton met the President Hafez al-Assad in Geneva in March 2000.

2001-2008

In the aftermath of the September 11 attacks in the United States in 2001, the Syrian Government began limited cooperation with U.S. in the war against terror. In one such case, Syrian intelligence alerted the U.S. of an Al Qaeda plan similar to the USS Cole bombing, which was to fly a hand glider loaded with explosives into the U.S. Navy?s Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain.Syria?s opposition to the Iraq War further deteriorated relations. Serious contention arose because the Syria Government failed to prevent foreign fighters from using Syrian borders to enter Iraq and refused to deport the elements from the former Saddam Hussein regime that support Iraqi insurgency. In turn, Syrian officials had concerns due to the high influx of Iraqi refugees into their country.

Issues of U.S. concern include the its ongoing interference in Lebanese affairs, its protection of the leadership of Palestinian rejectionist groups in Damascus, its human rights record, and its pursuit of weapons of mass destruction. Relations reached their low point after the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. In February 2005, in the wake of the Hariri assassination, the U.S. recalled its Ambassador to Washington.

Terrorism

Syria is considered to be a secular dictatorship with a poor human rights record. Syria has been on the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism since the list's inception in 1979 and deems it to be a ?safe-haven? for terrorists. Syria rejects its classification by the U.S. as a state sponsor of terrorism. In 1986, the U.S. withdrew its ambassador and imposed additional administrative sanctions on Syria in response to evidence of direct Syrian involvement in an attempt to blow up an Israeli airplane. A U.S. ambassador returned to Damascus in 1987, partially in response to positive Syrian actions against terrorism such as expelling the Abu Nidal Organization from Syria and helping free an American hostage earlier that year.

Syria has publicly condemned international terrorist attacks, and has not been directly linked to terrorist activity since 1986, as it denies any involvement in Hariri killing. Syria actively bars any Syrian-based terrorist attacks and targeting of Westerners. Instead, Syria provides ?passive support? to groups it deems as legitimate resistance movements. The United States characterizes this as providing safe-havens for terrorists groups, as the Syrian government allows groups such as Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command to operate within its borders . The U.S. believes that Syria provides tactical and political support to these groups and in April 2010 condemned Syria as it believes it provides SCUD missiles to Hezbollah forces in Lebanon.

Iraqi foreign fighters

The U.S. has also condemned Syria for the movement of extremist foreign fighter groups affiliated with Al Qaeda in Iraq which increase destabilization in Iraq. The movement of these foreign fighters peaked during 2005-2007, and since there have been significant Syrian efforts to decrease them with increased border monitoring, and better screening practices of those crossing the border. Since 2009 the Syrian government has indicated willingness to increase border security cooperation between Iraqi and U.S. forces.

2006 US Embassy bombing attempt in Damascus

On September 12, 2006 the U.S. Embassy was attacked by four armed assailants with guns, grenades and a car bomb (which failed to detonate). Syrian Security Forces successfully countered the attack, killing all four attackers. Two other Syrians killed during the attack were a government security guard and a passerby. The Syrian Government publicly stated that terrorists had carried out the attack. The U.S. Government has not received an official Syrian Government assessment of the motives or organization behind the attack, but security was upgraded at U.S. facilities. Both the Syrian ambassador to the U.S., Imad Moustapha, and President Bashar al-Assad, however, blamed U.S. foreign policy in the region as contributing to the incident.

Economic sanctions

The U.S. government has imposed a series of economic sanctions on Syria. The chief form of sanctioning results in Syria?s inclusion on the list of state sponsors of terrorism. These include legislatively mandated penalties, including export sanctions and ineligibility to receive most forms of U.S. aid or to purchase U.S. military equipment.

Executive Orders

There have been a series of executive orders administered by the U.S. Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) which include Executive Orders 13315, 13224, 13382, 13338, 13399, 13441, and 13460. These sanctions are imposed on certain Syrian citizens or entities due to their participation in terrorism, acts of public corruption, or their destabilizing activities in Iraq and Lebanon. As of 2010, there have been 20 Syrian citizens who have been sanctioned.

Commercial Bank of Syria

In 2006 the U.S. government enacted sanctions against the Commercial Bank of Syria which was a result money laundering concerns provided for under section 311 of the USA Patriot Act. These sanctions stop U.S. banks and subsidiaries from maintaining correspondence accounts with the Commercial Bank of Syria.

Syrian Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Restoration Act

In May 2004, a comprehensive set of economic sanctions were enacted under the Bush administration. The Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Restoration Act, imposed sanctions on Syria banned the majority exports to Syria except food and medicine, specifically prohibiting the export of most goods containing more than 10% U.S.-manufactured component parts to Syria. In May 2010 President Barack Obama renewed this set of sanctions against Syria.

Current relations

The overall policy of the Obama Administration with Syria is of political re-engagement in the hopes of greater regional cooperation the Middle East. Major issues being addressed include Syria's role in the reconstruction of Iraq, regional stability and renewing peace talks with Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

Lifting of travel restrictions

In February 2010 the US travel advisory for American citizens traveling to Syria was lifted. The advisory had been in place since the 2006 embassy bombing attempt. The US Embassy in Syria reported that, "After carefully assessing the current situation in Syria, we determined that circumstances didn't merit extending the travel warning.? This move was seen by many as one of the first steps towards better bilateral relations.

Re-engagement

On February 17, 2010, U.S. President Barack Obama appointed American diplomat Robert Stephen Ford to serve as the new U.S. Ambassador to Syria, the first since 2005 in the aftermath of the Hariri assassination.

Shortly after Ford's appointment, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs William Burns arrived in Damascus and hosted talks with President Bashar al-Assad in an attempt to revive relations. The talks were described as "candid" and that common ground was met on those issues pertaining to Iraq and Lebanon.

In July 2010, Senator Arlen Specter met with al-Assad in attempts to further continue the new dialogue. In meetings revolved around discussing ?specific steps to promote regional stability, revive Syria-Israel peace talks, and strengthen U.S.-Syrian bilateral relations.?

US Embassy officials

Principal U.S. officials include:

Source: http://article.wn.com/view/2012/02/06/UN_victory_may_push_Syrias_Assad_into_unwinnable_war_7/

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