U.S. POLICY TOWARD SYRIA AND THE SYRIA
ACCOUNTABILITY ACT

HEARING

BEFORE THE

SUBCOMMITTEE ON THE MIDDLE EAST
AND SOUTH ASIA

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

ONE HUNDRED SEVENTH CONGRESS

SECOND SESSION

ON

H.R. 4483

SEPTEMBER 18, 2002

Serial No. 107-119

Printed for the use of the Committee on International Relations

Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.house.gov/international_relations

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COMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

HENRY J. HYDE, Illinois, Chairman

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

JAN 16 2003

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CONTENTS

WITNESSES

Page

The Honorable Richard K. Armey, a Representative in Congress from the

State of Texas

4

The Honorable Eliot L. Engel, a Representative in Congress from the State

of New York

11

Elias Saadi, Council of Lebanese American Organizations

The Honorable Edward M. Gabriel, President, American Task Force for Leb-

anon

The Honorable William A. Reinsch, President, National Foreign Trade Coun-

cil, Inc.

Matthew A. Levitt, Senior Fellow, Washington Institute for Near East Policy

LETTERS, STATEMENTS, ETC., SUBMITTED FOR THE HEARING

The Honorable Benjamin A. Gilman, a Representative in Congress from the

State of New York, and Chairman, Subcommittee on the Middle East

and South Asia: Prepared statement

3

Elias Saadi: Prepared statement

The Honorable Richard K. Armey: Prepared statement

The Honorable Eliot L. Engel: Prepared statement

The Honorable Gary L. Ackerman, a Representative in Congress from the
State of New York: Prepared statement

The Honorable Edward M. Gabriel: Prepared statement

The Honorable William A. Reinsch: Prepared statement

Matthew A. Levitt: Prepared statement

APPENDIX

The Honorable David Satterfield, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for

Near Eastern Affairs: Prepared statement

The Honorable Darrell E. Issa, a Representative in Congress from the State

of California: Prepared statement

The Honorable Robert Wexler, a Representative in Congress from the State

of Florida: Prepared statement

The Honorable Joseph Crowley, a Representative in Congress from the State

of New York: Prepared statement

8

19

22

34

39

43

53

The Honorable Shelley Berkley, a Representative in Congress from the State

of Nevada: Prepared statement

American Task Force for Lebanon-The Minority Report

The Lebanese Information Center: Prepared statement

Archie W. Dunham, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Conoco

Inc.: Prepared statement

Patriarch Disclaims Aoun's Support of U.S. Sanctions Against Syria

Addoum: Aoun, others could face charges: Article by Youssef Diab, Daily

Star correspondent dated September 23, 2002

Rumsfeld on Iraq: 'Goal is disarmament': From CNN.com, dated September

23, 2002

"Dear Colleague" letter from the Honorable Nick J. Rahall, a Representative

in Congress from the State of West Virginia, and the Honorable John

D. Dingell, a Representative in Congress from the State of Michigan, dated

June 11, 2002

Page

Letter from the Honorable Paul Kelly, Assistant Secretary, Legislative Af-

fairs, U.S. Department of State to the Honorable Nick J. Rahall, dated

May 24, 2002, and enclosures

Article from the Israeli newspaper, Haaretz, dated September 2, 2002, by

Ze'ev Schiff, entitled "Syria has allowed hundreds of Qaida men to settle

in Lebanon"

Supporters of H.R. 4483-Syria Accountability Act of 2002

100

105

107

U.S. POLICY TOWARD SYRIA AND THE SYRIA

ACCOUNTABILITY ACT

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2002

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,

SUBCOMMITTEE ON THE MIDDLE EAST AND SOUTH ASIA,
COMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS,

Washington, DC.

The Subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 10:04 a.m. in Room 2172, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Benjamin A. Gilman, Chairman, presiding.

Mr. GILMAN. The Committee will come to order. Will the Members please take their seats. Due to time constraints, besides my opening statement, we will forego all other openings.

It's my pleasure to welcome our witnesses today, and as soon as they arrive, we will be able to get started.

In his June 24th address on the Middle East, President Bush put Syria on notice, stating that:

"Syria must choose the right side in the war on terror by closing terrorist camps and expelling terrorist organizations.' Yet Syria's words and actions since then have not been those of a state that shares our commitment, both to our twin goals of eradicating global terrorism and fostering stability in the Middle East.

Rather, with a few exceptions taken in its self-interest, Syria had demonstrated that it continues to actively undermine the basis for our campaigning against terrorism and our initiatives aimed at ending the violence in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza.

According to the State Department's report on Patterns on Global Terrorism-2001, Syria continued to provide "safe haven and logistics support to Hezbollah, HAMAS, Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and other terrorist organizations."

Syria's President Bashar al-Assad has allowed Hezbollah, the Lebanese terrorist group under his patronage, to intensify its military activities along Israel's northern border. Working closely with Iran, Syria has facilitated the transfer of thousands of rockets and other weaponry to Hezbollah, boosting their arsenal and significantly improving their ability to carry out terror attacks against Israel. Of the seven state sponsors on the Administration's list, only Syria rivals Iran in its unabashed support for terrorism.

In addition to Syria's support for terrorism, Syria continues its illegal occupation of Lebanon in contravention of United Nations Security Council Resolutions 425 and 520.