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8.10.03

Sanctions against Syria appear likely

So... it looks like Congress is going to recommend that Bush apply sanctions against Syria (see also this Guardian article).

I wonder how US sanctions against Syria will impact all the help Syria has been giving America in its "war on terror". Will it be more or less likely that a country targetted by sanctions will help out the country that is applying them? Another fucking genius solution from the fucking geniuses running this country.

It is absolutely preposterous that I am able to compare this
House Majority Leader Tom DeLay said it was long past time for Syria to be pay a price for its alleged support of terrorists.

"It has become increasingly clear which side Syria's government has chosen in the war on terror," DeLay said.
with this
In some cases, one official said, Syrian tips about ongoing Al Qaeda plots have proven so important that they have "saved American lives."

"It certainly was a factor," said Kenneth Katzman, a counterterrorism expert for the Congressional Research Service, about the administration's dramatic about-face on Syria. "The Syrians have been pretty cooperative in allowing us to send [terrorism suspects] to them and passing along information from debriefings. They've been quite helpful."
or this
In the wake of Sept. 11, Syria cooperated with the CIA in passing on information on Islamist radicals suspected of having connections with the Al Qaeda network of Osama bin Laden.
So, Mr. Engel, Democrat from New York and one of the sponsors of this moronic bill, perhaps you'd like to consider how you can best represent your constituents: is applying sanctions to a country that has been cooperative in fighting against the group that killed 3,000 of them on 11 September a reasonable way to do it?

And, for the self-styled "patriots" out there, who think that blindly supporting Israel is the "American" thing to do - what is more "American": preventing attacks against US naval ships:
U.S. officials also told NEWSWEEK that last summer Syria supplied the U.S. with information that enabled officials to foil an attempted bombing plot against a U.S. Navy command center in Bahrain.
or carrying them out?
Without warning, a furious attack on the [USS Liberty] commenced from Israeli Mirage and Mystere jets, followed by Ayah-class motor torpedo boats (MTBs). Employed were rockets, napalm, quick-firing 30-mm and 40-mm cannon, .50-caliber machine guns, and torpedoes. Four unshielded .50-caliber machine guns were the Liberty's only defense. The one Israeli torpedo hit of five launched left a yawning 40-foot hole in the hull, devastating the cryptological spaces below decks and killing 25 U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) technicians instantly.

Later, 821 shell holes were counted in the ship's superstructure and hull. A total of 34 men died, with another 172 wounded, many disfigured for life, among the highest peacetime tolls for any noncombatant U.S. Navy vessel and by far the worst single loss to the U.S. intelligence community.
You know, if Syria got back the Golan, there'd be a peace treaty. That would mean that there would also be a peace treaty with Lebanon. And we wouldn't have to bother with sanctions or anything else. But why bother with the simple and moral solutions, when we can make everything difficult and ass-backwards?


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