A bipartisan group of lawmakers in the House have introduced a bill aimed to combat Syria’s normalization with regional countries that would expand sanctions and prohibit the US from establishing diplomatic ties with the government of Bashar al-Assad.
The bill was introduced by Reps. Joe Wilson (R-SC), Michael McCaul (R-TX), Steve Cohen (D-TN), and several other members of the House. The legislation comes as a response to Syria being readmitted to the Arab League, which has enraged US officials who want to keep Syria isolated.
“The United States must use all of our leverage to stop normalization with Assad. I am proud to join my colleagues in mandating further sanctions against any form of investment in territory under the control of the Assad regime, as we remain committed to ensuring the Syrian people receive justice,” McCaul, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said in a statement on the bill.
The bill seeks to expand the Caesar Act, which the US used to impose crippling economic sanctions on Syria in 2020 that are designed to prevent the country’s reconstruction. The sanctions have had a devastating impact on Syria’s civilian population, and the House recently voted overwhelmingly to keep enforcing them following an earthquake that killed thousands of Syrians.
According to a summary of the bill, the legislation would “expand the Caesar Act by plugging loopholes in the original bill which made it hard to enforce.” The bill would “clarify the applicability of current sanctions to Syrian regime airlines, and to energy transactions – sending a clear sign to countries normalizing with Assad which are considering allowing Syrian regime airlines to land in their airports.”
The legislation would require “an annual strategy for five years to counter normalization with the Assad regime by countries which have taken steps to normalize with the Assad regime.” It would prohibit any US federal agencies from “recognizing or normalizing with any government in Syria led by Bashar al-Assad.”
Despite Washington’s hardline position on normalization, regional countries are still following through with their plans. On Tuesday, Syria and Saudi Arabia said they were resuming diplomatic ties for the first time in over 10 years. The following day, Saudi King Salman invited Assad to attend an Arab League summit in Jeddah later this month.
“I am proud to join my colleagues in mandating further sanctions against any form of investment in territory under the control of the Assad regime, as we remain committed to ensuring the Syrian people receive justice,” McCaul, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said in a statement on the bill.
As we steal Syria’s oil the learned Congressman wants “justice” for the people of Syria? Really? Honestly? The level of US hypocrisy knows no bounds.
“Learned” and “Congressman” are mutually exclusive terms these days.
Who do these oeople actually work for? Can anyone come up with a ratiinal explanation how is this nonswnse in American national interest?
There is no commonwealth interest, only private interests. The interest of the aggregate of Big Bourgeoisie is called the National interest.
Than we need to find the way to structure revenue and expenditure reflecting this reality. Basically, let the befeficiaries fund their own adventures. None of the nonsense should be on congressional desks, or any other desk paid for by taxpayer. Comingling private and public interests is the source of all evil.
Effectively that would be neo-feudalism.
They should just rename it the Skeezer act and send Kushner back over with his kneepads and donut shaped grin.
Just what we need, more sanctions. It’s time for the rest of the world to sanction us, dump the petrodollar, and completely isolate both the USA and Israel. We are junk-yard dogs that need to be put down.
What an arrogant bunch of losers.
Sanctions against Syria for defending itself (and for being friendly to Russia), pressure against South Africa for being friendly to Russia (and for possibly sending arms). The rifts in the US empire are getting bigger and bigger. I hope I live long enough to see a peaceful shift into a multi-polar world system. But capitalism needs growth and that means pushing free-market neoliberal economics (Milton Friedman/profits over everything) as far as it can go. There is still plenty of drama to come in this story.
We are forcing the whole world to pick sides. This so ends in a world war.
Sound observation ZM. I am stockpiling copious amounts of marijuana, should things take a turn for the worse…
I’ve spent the last 17 years trying to bake my noodle, and I still care about all this shit. Why? I might as well rail against the night bringing darkness, the amount of impact any of this has.
Anyway, maybe the next bowl will finally bring zen.
Michael McCaul = Reincarnation of John McCain.
=
At least it is alphabetically correct.
McCain. McCaul. McConnell. McMaster. McDonald Douglas. McDonald hamburgers. We need more Mc’s like McGovern.
👏👏👏
Sometimes for democracy ,sometimes for human rights, sometimes for peace US imposes sanctions.
““China has already brokered a rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Iran, endangering Middle East peace”
https://news.yahoo.com/russia-collapse-handed-china-once-200000187.html
For democracy US has implicitly supported capture and removal of Morsi and now Imran.
For democracy US has imposed sanctions for 2% Navalny.
2% – same approval rating for the paid bribed and repeatedly humped US congress members enjoy for opening the legs from the back.
For peace US Congressperson has decided vaporizing Temiconductor factory of Taiwan to recapture aha moment of Nagashaki and highway death in Iraq.
For humanrights of 50 % over non essential nature ,US has imposed sanctions and has engaged in stealing denying the existential rights of 100% Afghanistan.
Apparently, the US has found a few more Syrians who aren’t suffering enough.
We remain committed to ensuing the Syrian people receive justice ? . i presume that means staving them to death first , i only hope the Saudis hit back at any sanctions by threatening the Yanks with the dumping of the Petro Dollar or better still just dump it in the trash where it belongs.
Again the USA trying to rule the world. What business is it of the USA to spoil any agreement bringing peace among other nations? All these illegal punishments of disobedient nations? Calling Syria’s many-times elected government a “régime” shows the arrogance of the “exceptional USA.”
Thankfully the Arab league, the BRICS, and sovereign nations tired of the petty US diktats will ignore this desperate terrorist act by the worthless political class in Washington.
Of course they don’t want anyone else rubbing elbows with Syria- the more eyes on Syria, the less opportunity we’ll have to steal their oil. Besides, making nice with Syria is a foolproof way to give the finger to Washington.
“US Lawmakers Introduce Bill to Combat Syria Normalization The
bill would prohibit the US from normalizing with Assad and expand
sanctions on Syria to target countries that are normalizing”
Of course, America cannot stand peace if it is brokered by anyone but their own special interest kleptocrats. American elites are only in Syria to rape the natural resources as they are in Ukraine, Haiti, and most of the Global South.
The recent earthquake caused thousands of deaths in Syria. America proved that it is an evil empire by refusing to lift sanctions for humanitarian aid to reach the people of Syria.
The American public may be sheep sucking up propaganda from American Globalist Ivy League elites, but the world is watching. The Global South has just abandoned America in favor of the BRICS nations.
The American stick in the eye and no carrot for you approach no longer plays well in former colonies of European Nations. The Global South has thrown off the yoke of existing as colonial vassal states and want no part of the new American colonial empire.
Stooges for ISRAEL…. Send these treasonous bastards packing !
Back on capital Hill, [Eliot] Engel [D-NY] reintroduced the Syria Accountability Act on April 12, [2003]. Three days later, Richard Perle called for Congress to pass it. But the [George W.] Bush administration (2001-2009) still had little enthusiams for the legislation and was able to stall it again. In mid-August, Engel and a group of politicians and Jewish leaders from New York traveled to Israel and met for ninety minutes with Ariel Sharon in his Jewish office. The Israeli leader complained to his visitors that the United States was not putting enough pressure on Syria although he specifically thanked Engel for sponsoring the Syrian Accountability Act. (The Israel Lobby, P-276)
The “Israhelli Lobby”, meaning the United Snakes Guvvmint.
Translation: Let’s starve millions of Syrian people, because we don’t like one guy.
US officials are “enraged”; boo-f*cking-hoo. Arab nations are recognizing the advantage of reuniting with their brethren, rather than allowing the United Snakes to isolate them from one another for IsraHell’s benefit.
IsraHell is now the lost and isolated soul in the Middle East. And Arab nations are respectively flipping off Amerikkka; “F*ck off, Yanks. Who needs ya?”
You all need to stop the bullshit! and go figure…
UNITED STATES is a Corporation There are Two Constitutions Sovereignty
Congress, under no constitutional authority to do so, created a separate form of government for the District of Columbia, which is a ten mile square parcel of land between Maryland and Virginnia.
Title 28 USC 3002 Section 15: THE UNITED STATES is a CORPORATION and Not a GOVERNMENT.
See UNITED STATES CODE Title 28 3002 (15) where it states that the UNITED STATES is a corporation. Washington D.C. is a sovereign city state not bound by any laws or treatises that the 50 states in the Union are, (just as the City of London is not part of England proper and the Vatican is also a sovereign city-state)
Whatever draconian rule you busy bodies makeup STAYS WITHIN YOUR DISTRICT.
And since you are just a CORPORATION and NOT government you can be sued for Trillions
We have a deranged president backed up by a congress of idiots. We need a regime change more than any other nation.