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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 has occupied since 1967, has been one of the most intractable issues in the Arab-Israeli dispute. 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; Syria's role in Lebanon; and Syria's opposition to the U.S. occupation in 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, due largely to Syria's designation by the U.S. State 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. Secretary 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 denied these allegations. The assassination on February 14, 2005, of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, who had become a vocal critic of Syria's military force presence in Lebanon, drew widespread suspicions of Syrian involvement among some Lebanese and within the international community. Although U.S. officials said the perpetrators had not been identified, President Bush and other U.S. officials demanded that Syria withdraw its military and intelligence personnel from Lebanon. U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan stated on March 22 that Syria had withdrawn approximately 4,000 personnel out of the 14,000 formerly stationed in Lebanon; he added that he expected to see "a credible and well defined time table" by early April for withdrawal of remaining Syrian contingents. 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 Lebanon, 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 Appropriations 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 in the case of Syria. President Bush signed the bill as P.L. 108-447 on December 8, 2004.
