Feb 13, 2008 10:40 am US/Central
Bush Orders Sanctions Against Top Syrian Officials
WASHINGTON (AP) ―
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President George W. Bush speaks after signing an executive order titled 'Protecting American Taxpayers from Government Spending on Wasteful Earmarks' at his desk in the White House Oval Office in Washington on Jan. 29, 2008.
Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images
President Bush ordered new sanctions on Wednesday to punish Syria for its alleged efforts to undermine stability in Iraq and undercut Lebanon's sovereignty and democracy.
Bush, in an executive order, said he was expanding sanctions against senior government officials in Syria and their associates deemed to be responsible for - or to have benefited from - public corruption. The order did not specifically name any officials.
The White House said Wednesday's order expanded action taken in May 2004 when Bush issued an executive order banning all U.S. exports to Syria except for food and medicine. He ordered the sanctions then after long-standing complaints that the Middle Eastern nation was supporting terrorism and undermining U.S. efforts in Iraq.
The measures he imposed in 2004 also included a ban on flights to and from the United States; authorization to the Treasury Department to freeze assets of Syrian nationals and entities involved in terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, occupation of Lebanon or terror in Iraq; and restrictions on banking relations between U.S. banks and the Syrian national bank.
The measures follow complaints by the United States that Syria was supporting militant groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah and failing to stop guerrillas from crossing the border into Iraq.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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