USA: U.S. slaps sanctions on Syria's intelligence agency and two relatives of President Bashar al-Assad

Record ID: 279701

  • Title: USA: U.S. slaps sanctions on Syria's intelligence agency and two relatives of President Bashar al-Assad
  • Date: 30th April 2011
  • Summary: BASHAR AL-ASSAD WASHINGTON, DC, UNITED STATES (APRIL 29, 2011) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) BRIAN KATULIS, SENIOR FELLOW AT THE CENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS, A LIBERAL THINK-TANK, SAYING: "These sanctions are mostly about sending a message to the Syrian regime, but unfortunately, I think they're mostly symbolic, because for decades, U.S. policy has, in a sense, sanctio
  • Embargoed: 15th May 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Usa, Usa
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVAC5BEHFRCJHHFHGZ9EBN92QVQV
  • Story Text: The United States on Friday (April 29) slapped sanctions on Syria's intelligence agency and two relatives of President Bashar al-Assad in Washington's first concrete steps in response to a bloody crackdown on protests.
    Assad, Syria's long-serving ruler, was not among those targeted under an order signed by President Barack Obama but could be named soon if violence by government forces against democracy protesters continues, a senior U.S. official said.
    Mahir al-Assad, Bashar's brother, and Atif Najib, one of his cousins, were among the five targets of U.S. sanctions related to alleged human rights violations.
    The action marks a more assertive approach by Washington, which has been criticized by human rights groups for not doing more to curb Assad's efforts to crush an uprising against his autocratic 11-year rule.
    The sanctions, which include asset freezes and bans on U.S. business dealings, build on U.S. measures against Syria in place since 2004.
    There are questions, however, whether new sanctions against Assad's inner circle will have much tangible impact since they are thought to hold few U.S. assets. But U.S. officials said they hoped European and Asian governments would follow suit.
    Brian Katulis of the liberal Washington-based think tank, the Center for American Progress, said the sanctions are largely symbolic.
    "These sanctions are mostly about sending a message to the Syrian regime, but unfortunately, I think they're mostly symbolic, because for decades, U.S. policy has, in a sense, sanctioned itself out of influence in Damascus with a series of sanctions against Syria because of their support and state-sponsorship of terror and a range of issues. So these sanctions are very targeted on Syria's intelligence agency, on a number of Syrian officials, but not President Bashar Al-Assad and even the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. They freeze assets of these individuals that are under U.S. jurisdiction -- they don't have many assets in U.S. jurisdiction -- so I think these are aimed at trying to send a message but don't really have as much teeth as many people would like," he said.
    Washington is mindful of its limited ability to influence Damascus, which is closely allied with U.S. foe Iran.
    The Obama administration is also worried about stoking instability on U.S. ally Israel's borders and wants to avoid another military entanglement in the Muslim world, where it is involved in wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
    "At this stage, there's certainly a double standard in play here. We acted in Libya because we could. We are not acting in Syria in a similar (way), because the military options and others are simply not available in a place like Syria. So yes, there is a double standard, but I think what they're trying to do in the White House is to combine the U.S. national security interests with the values with what we can actually get done in this instance and I think it's going to be a little bit more difficult in a place like Syria," said Katulis.
    In his executive order, Obama said the Syrian government had committed "human rights abuses, including those related to the repression of the people in Syria, manifested most recently by the use of violence and torture against, and arbitrary arrests and detentions of, peaceful protesters."
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