News Release

March 18, 2004

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Engagement, not confrontation, needed in dealing with Syria
Syria Accountability Act would discourage cooperation in terror fight, embolden radical elements

WASHINGTON -- The implementation of the Syria Accountability Act, which will impose economic and other sanctions on the strategically important Middle East nation, is likely to discourage Syrian cooperation in the fight against al Qaeda and embolden the most radical elements in the country, according to a new Cato Institute study.

Although the Bush administration contends that the law will prompt Damascus to end support for certain groups designated as terrorist organizations, economic sanctions and diplomatic pressure, by themselves, will do little to encourage Syrian cooperation, Claude Salhani argues in "The Syria Accountability Act: Taking the Wrong Road to Damascus." Rather than escalate conflict between Washington and Damascus, the Bush administration should engage Bashar Assad's government.

"Alienating Damascus and consigning Syria to the diplomatic doghouse -- as the Syria Accountability Act does -- will result in Washington having less leverage to apply on Syria and, by extension, less leverage over terrorist groups," writes Salhani, a foreign editor and political news analyst with United Press International. "An added danger in alienating Damascus would be the loss of access to important intelligence the Syrians have been sharing with the United States since 9/11." While Syria has been listed as a state supporter of terrorism by the State Department since 1979, the country has not been linked to any acts of terrorism since 1986. Further, Salhani argues that Assad's government has much to fear from al Qaeda and other radical Islamic groups, and therefore has many reasons to cooperate with the United States.

The small volume of trade between Syria and the United States, coupled with widespread smuggling across Syria's porous borders, would likely undermine the effects of economic sanctions, Salhani says. However, the symbolic effects amount to a slap in the face of a government struggling to contain the forces of extremism.

"The United States should follow a policy of helping the most moderate elements emerge and distance themselves from the hardliners," Salhani writes. "That will prevent the emergence of new anti-American terrorist groups and will allow us to remain focused on the genuine threats that face us today."