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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 tensions between Syria and its neighbors. In particular, the Syrian Golan Heights territory, which Israel occupied in 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 briefly under 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, Switzerland, between then Presidents Clinton and Asad failed to produce an agreement on restarting the talks. Asad's successor, President Bashar al-Asad, has expressed support for the peace process but has 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; questions of arms proliferation; Syrian connections with terrorist activity and previous involvement in narcotics traffic; Syria's human rights record; Syria's role in Lebanon; and a warming trend in Syrian relations with Iraq. A variety of U.S. legislative provisions and executive directives prohibit direct aid to Syria and restrict bilateral trade relations between the two countries. 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. On April 18, 2002, similar bills were introduced in the House (H.R. 4483) and Senate (S. 2215), that would have imposed further U.S. sanctions against Syria unless it halts support for international terrorism and takes other specified actions. (The 107th Congress adjourned without floor action on either bill.) 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). The House version of the Emergency Wartime Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2003 (H.R. 1559) contains a provision (Section 3002) that would bar Syrian firms from reconstruction projects in Iraq. An issue for U.S. policy makers is the degree to which the Administration should go in seeking to enlist Syrian support for U.S. endeavors in the Middle East. Many U.S. observers believe removal of legislative sanctions should be contingent on evidence of improvements in Syria's human rights record, a clear renunciation of terrorism, and reversal of other policies injurious to U.S. interests. Others favor quiet diplomacy aimed at encouraging Syria to play a constructive and responsible role in the Middle East.
