Apparently “talking” with Damascus didn’t work… and Obama has renewed the sanctions placed on Syria for another year.
U.S. President Barack Obama said on Friday he had renewed sanctions against Syria because it posed a continuing threat to U.S. interests.
Obama, in a letter to Congress notifying it of his decision, accused Damascus of “supporting terrorism, pursuing weapons of mass destruction and missile programs, and undermining U.S. and international efforts with respect to the stabilization and reconstruction of Iraq.”
“For these reasons I have determined that it is necessary to continue in effect the national emergency declared with respect to this threat and to maintain in force the sanctions,” Obama said in the letter to Congress.
Renewal of the sanctions is required each year by Congress. The announcement came following the visit of two U.S. envoys to Damascus this week to try to improve ties.The sanctions, imposed by former President George W. Bush, prohibit arms exports to Syria, block Syrian airlines from operating in the United States and deny Syrians suspected of being associated with terrorist groups access to the U.S. financial system.
While the United States has made clear it wants better relations with Syria, a nation it has long accused of supporting terrorism, the renewal of sanctions shows Washington is not yet ready for a dramatic improvement in relations.
The announcement came a day after Jeffrey Feltman, the State Department’s top Middle East envoy, held talks with Syrian officials in Damascus.
Feltman was accompanied to Damascus by White House official Daniel
Shapiro. Their trip was part of U.S. President Barack Obama’s administration’s outreach to nations shunned by former President George Bush.continue reading at link above
Vietnam era Navy wife, indy/conservative, and an official California escapee now residing as a red speck in the sea of Oregon blue.
Thank goodness Obama followed someone who had put a little thought into what he was doing before he ran his mouth.
Nah, this isn’t a “hey Bush was right” moment- this is Barry the Kneecapper getting revenge for Assad’s recent playing of triangulation-tag with Egypt and Saudi to the detriment of Iran.
Hmmmm… another opportunity to overturn the “failed Bush policies” and Obama votes present!
I thought everyone around the world would love us by now. Surely the Syrians stopped supporting the terrorists that killed U.S. troops in Iraq as soon Obama was elected? No? Oh, I am surprised!
I wonder if Hillary Clinton tried one of those “reset” buttons with the Syrians like she did with the Russians?
No surprise.
Hope & Change = Same Old, Same Old. Barry’s still campaigning… what a clown – hope his circus calls him home soon!
I wonder how the peace loving Obama supporters will take this …
US officials responded with massive diplomatic pressure, publicly accusing Pakistan of “abdicating” to the Taleban. Behind the scenes, they also threatened to launch missile attacks on Swat and to withhold — or at least attach strict conditions to — billions of dollars in military and civilian aid. Yesterday the House Appropriations Committee approved an initial package of $1 billion (£665 million), including $400 million for improving Pakistani forces’ counter-insurgency abilities and $600 million for education and democratic reforms.
It’s dated yesterday, so it must be Obama pressuring a poor 3rd world country by threatening military intervention.
Can you say … ‘cowboy’ diplomacy ?
Carrots for ACORN, GITMO Terrorists & the Unions and the Stick for everyone else. Plus the AF 1 overflight of NYC. This guy & his crew are in way over their heads. Before the end of his farce of a Presidency, whats left of the Republican Party after the infighting will have a very strong case for making him a one termer and replacing the Tax & Spend Buffoons in Congress.
Neo ponders: “I wonder how the peace loving Obama supporters will take this”.
(Chicago Trib.) “President Barack Obama has started his second 100 days “slightly more popular” than he was during the span of his first 100 days, the Gallup Poll reports this morning.
The two-thirds of Americans who say they approve of the job that the president is performing – with 66 percent approval recorded in surveys May 7-9 – is a notch higher than the 63 percent approval that the president had, on average, in Gallup polling from January through April.”
Well, when the dialogue with Syria was announced, I thought it was worth a shot after years of intentional ignorance of that nation by the previous Administration. In the world of diplomacy, it’s important that we show a willingness to listen every so often, instead of just sticking our diplomatic fingers in our ears and saying “LA LA LA YOU DON’T EXIST LA LA LA”…even at the height of the Cold War, we had diplomats working to keep lines of communication open, and we do so with estranged nations today (often through the use of third parties; for instance, the US Interest Section in Havana is formally part of Switzerland’s embassy). In cases where diplomacy fails (for now, anyway), it’s also important that we can say “hey, we tried” when imposing/continuing sanctions.
Am I surprised that (apparently) the effort was ineffective? No.
Am I glad that we, at least, tried to talk to them? Yes.