    [United States Statutes at Large, Volume 117, 108th Congress, 1st Session]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    117 STAT. 2482

    Public Law 108-175
    108th Congress

    An Act

    To halt Syrian support for terrorism, end its occupation of Lebanon, and
    stop its development of weapons of mass destruction, and by so doing
    hold Syria accountable for the serious international security problems
    it has caused in the Middle East, and for other purposes. <>

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
    United States of America in Congress assembled, <>

    SECTION 1. <> SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Syria Accountability and Lebanese
    Sovereignty Restoration Act of 2003''.

    SEC. 2. <> FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
    (1) On June 24, 2002, President Bush stated ``Syria must
    choose the right side in the war on terror by closing terrorist
    camps and expelling terrorist organizations''.
    (2) United Nations Security Council Resolution 1373
    (September 28, 2001) mandates that all states ``refrain from
    providing any form of support, active or passive, to entities or
    persons involved in terrorist acts'', take ``the necessary steps
    to prevent the commission of terrorist acts'', and ``deny safe
    haven to those who finance, plan, support, or commit terrorist
    acts''.
    (3) The Government of Syria is currently prohibited by
    United States law from receiving United States assistance
    because it has repeatedly provided support for acts of
    international terrorism, as determined by the Secretary of State
    for purposes of section 6(j)(1) of the Export Administration Act
    of 1979 (50 U.S.C. App. 2405(j)(1)) and other relevant
    provisions of law.
    (4) Although the Department of State lists Syria as a state
    sponsor of terrorism and reports that Syria provides ``safe
    haven and support to several terrorist groups'', fewer United
    States sanctions apply with respect to Syria than with respect
    to any other country that is listed as a state sponsor of
    terrorism.
    (5) Terrorist groups, including Hizballah, Hamas,
    Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation
    of Palestine, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of
    Palestine--General Command, maintain offices, training camps,
    and other facilities on Syrian territory, and operate in areas
    of Lebanon occupied by the Syrian armed forces and receive
    supplies from Iran through Syria.

    [[Page 2483]]
    117 STAT. 2483

    (6) United Nations Security Council Resolution 520
    (September 17, 1982) calls for ``strict respect of the
    sovereignty, territorial integrity, unity and political
    independence of Lebanon under the sole and exclusive authority
    of the Government of Lebanon through the Lebanese Army
    throughout Lebanon''.
    (7) Approximately 20,000 Syrian troops and security
    personnel occupy much of the sovereign territory of Lebanon
    exerting undue influence upon its government and undermining its
    political independence.
    (8) Since 1990 the Senate and House of Representatives have
    passed seven bills and resolutions which call for the withdrawal
    of Syrian armed forces from Lebanon.
    (9) On March 3, 2003, Secretary of State Colin Powell
    declared that it is the objective of the United States to ``let
    Lebanon be ruled by the Lebanese people without the presence of
    [the Syrian] occupation army''.
    (10) Large and increasing numbers of the Lebanese people
    from across the political spectrum in Lebanon have mounted
    peaceful and democratic calls for the withdrawal of the Syrian
    Army from Lebanese soil.
    (11) Israel has withdrawn all of its armed forces from
    Lebanon in accordance with United Nations Security Council
    Resolution 425 (March 19, 1978), as certified by the United
    Nations Secretary General.
    (12) Even in the face of this United Nations certification
    that acknowledged Israel's full compliance with Security Council
    Resolution 425, Syrian- and Iranian-supported Hizballah
    continues to attack Israeli outposts at Shebaa Farms, under the
    pretense that Shebaa Farms is territory from which Israel was
    required to withdraw by Security Counsel Resolution 425, and
    Syrian- and Iranian-supported Hizballah and other militant
    organizations continue to attack civilian targets in Israel.
    (13) Syria will not allow Lebanon--a sovereign country--to
    fulfill its obligation in accordance with Security Council
    Resolution 425 to deploy its troops to southern Lebanon.
    (14) As a result, the Israeli-Lebanese border and much of
    southern Lebanon is under the control of Hizballah, which
    continues to attack Israeli positions, allows Iranian
    Revolutionary Guards and other militant groups to operate freely
    in the area, and maintains thousands of rockets along Israel's
    northern border, destabilizing the entire region.
    (15) On February 12, 2003, Director of Central Intelligence
    George Tenet stated the following with respect to the Syrian-
    and Iranian-supported Hizballah: ``[A]s an organization with
    capability and worldwide presence [it] is [al Qaeda's] equal if
    not a far more capable organization * * * [T]hey're a notch
    above in many respects, in terms of in their relationship with
    the Iranians and the training they receive, [which] puts them in
    a state-sponsored category with a potential for lethality that's
    quite great.''.
    (16) In the State of the Union address on January 29, 2002,
    President Bush declared that the United States will ``work
    closely with our coalition to deny terrorists and their state
    sponsors the materials, technology, and expertise to make and
    deliver weapons of mass destruction''.

    [[Page 2484]]
    117 STAT. 2484

    (17) The Government of Syria continues to develop and deploy
    short- and medium-range ballistic missiles.
    (18) According to the December 2001 unclassified Central
    Intelligence Agency report entitled ``Foreign Missile
    Developments and the Ballistic Missile Threat through 2015'',
    ``Syria maintains a ballistic missile and rocket force of
    hundreds of FROG rockets, Scuds, and SS-21 SRBMs [and] Syria has
    developed [chemical weapons] warheads for its Scuds''.
    (19) The Government of Syria is pursuing the development and
    production of biological and chemical weapons and has a nuclear
    research and development program that is cause for concern.
    (20) According to the Central Intelligence Agency's
    ``Unclassified Report to Congress on the Acquisition of
    Technology Relating to Weapons of Mass Destruction and Advanced
    Conventional Munitions'', released January 7, 2003: ``[Syria]
    already holds a stockpile of the nerve agent sarin but
    apparently is trying to develop more toxic and persistent nerve
    agents. Syria remains dependent on foreign sources for key
    elements of its [chemical weapons] program, including precursor
    chemicals and key production equipment. It is highly probable
    that Syria also is developing an offensive [biological weapons]
    capability.''.
    (21) On May 6, 2002, the Under Secretary of State for Arms
    Control and International Security, John Bolton, stated: ``The
    United States also knows that Syria has long had a chemical
    warfare program. It has a stockpile of the nerve agent sarin and
    is engaged in research and development of the more toxic and
    persistent nerve agent VX. Syria, which has signed but not
    ratified the [Biological Weapons Convention], is pursuing the
    development of biological weapons and is able to produce at
    least small amounts of biological warfare agents.''.
    (22) According to the Central Intelligence Agency's
    ``Unclassified Report to Congress on the Acquisition of
    Technology Relating to Weapons of Mass Destruction and Advanced
    Conventional Munitions'', released January 7, 2003: ``Russia and
    Syria have approved a draft cooperative program on cooperation
    on civil nuclear power. In principal, broader access to Russian
    expertise provides opportunities for Syria to expand its
    indigenous capabilities, should it decide to pursue nuclear
    weapons.''.
    (23) Under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear
    Weapons (21 UST 483), which entered force on March 5, 1970, and
    to which Syria is a party, Syria has undertaken not to acquire
    or produce nuclear weapons and has accepted full scope
    safeguards of the International Atomic Energy Agency to detect
    diversions of nuclear materials from peaceful activities to the
    production of nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive
    devices.
    (24) Syria is not a party to the Chemical Weapons Convention
    or the Biological Weapons Convention, which entered into force
    on April 29, 1997, and on March 26, 1975, respectively.
    (25) Syrian President Bashar Assad promised Secretary of
    State Powell in February 2001 to end violations of Security
    Council Resolution 661, which restricted the sale of oil and
    other commodities by Saddam Hussein's regime, except to the

    [[Page 2485]]
    117 STAT. 2485

    extent authorized by other relevant resolutions, but this pledge
    was never fulfilled.
    (26) Syria's illegal imports and transshipments of Iraqi oil
    during Saddam Hussein's regime earned Syria $50,000,000 or more
    per month as Syria continued to sell its own Syrian oil at
    market prices.
    (27) Syria's illegal imports and transshipments of Iraqi oil
    earned Saddam Hussein's regime $2,000,000 per day.
    (28) On March 28, 2003, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld
    warned: ``[W]e have information that shipments of military
    supplies have been crossing the border from Syria into Iraq,
    including night-vision goggles * * * These deliveries pose a
    direct threat to the lives of coalition forces. We consider such
    trafficking as hostile acts, and will hold the Syrian government
    accountable for such shipments.''.
    (29) According to Article 23(1) of the United Nations
    Charter, members of the United Nations are elected as
    nonpermanent members of the United Nations Security Council with
    ``due regard being specially paid, in the first instance to the
    contribution of members of the United Nations to the maintenance
    of international peace and security and to other purposes of the
    Organization''.
    (30) Despite Article 23(1) of the United Nations Charter,
    Syria was elected on October 8, 2001, to a 2-year term as a
    nonpermanent member of the United Nations Security Council
    beginning January 1, 2002, and served as President of the
    Security Council during June 2002 and August 2003.
    (31) On March 31, 2003, the Syrian Foreign Minister, Farouq
    al-Sharra, made the Syrian regime's intentions clear when he
    explicitly stated that ``Syria's interest is to see the invaders
    defeated in Iraq''.
    (32) On April 13, 2003, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld
    charged that ``busloads'' of Syrian fighters entered Iraq with
    ``hundreds of thousands of dollars'' and leaflets offering
    rewards for dead American soldiers.
    (33) On September 16, 2003, the Under Secretary of State for
    Arms Control and International Security, John Bolton, appeared
    before the Subcommittee on the Middle East and Central Asia of
    the Committee on International Relations of the House of
    Representatives, and underscored Syria's ``hostile actions''
    toward coalition forces during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Under
    Secretary Bolton added that: ``Syria allowed military equipment
    to flow into Iraq on the eve of and during the war. Syria
    permitted volunteers to pass into Iraq to attack and kill our
    service members during the war, and is still doing so * * *
    [Syria's] behavior during Operation Iraqi Freedom underscores
    the importance of taking seriously reports and information on
    Syria's WMD capabilities.''.
    (34) During his appearance before the Committee on
    International Relations of the House of Representatives on
    September 25, 2003, Ambassador L. Paul Bremer, III,
    Administrator of the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq,
    stated that out of the 278 third-country nationals who were
    captured by coalition forces in Iraq, the ``single largest group
    are Syrians''.

    [[Page 2486]]
    117 STAT. 2486

    SEC. 3. <> SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that--
    (1) the Government of Syria should immediately and
    unconditionally halt support for terrorism, permanently and
    openly declare its total renunciation of all forms of terrorism,
    and close all terrorist offices and facilities in Syria,
    including the offices of Hamas, Hizballah, Palestinian Islamic
    Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and
    the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine--General
    Command;
    (2) the Government of Syria should--
    (A) immediately and unconditionally stop
    facilitating transit from Syria to Iraq of individuals,
    military equipment, and all lethal items, except as
    authorized by the Coalition Provisional Authority or a
    representative, internationally recognized Iraqi
    government;
    (B) cease its support for ``volunteers'' and
    terrorists who are traveling from and through Syria into
    Iraq to launch attacks; and
    (C) undertake concrete, verifiable steps to deter
    such behavior and control the use of territory under
    Syrian control;
    (3) the Government of Syria should immediately declare its
    commitment to completely withdraw its armed forces, including
    military, paramilitary, and security forces, from Lebanon, and
    set a firm timetable for such withdrawal;
    (4) the Government of Lebanon should deploy the Lebanese
    armed forces to all areas of Lebanon, including South Lebanon,
    in accordance with United Nations Security Council Resolution
    520 (September 17, 1982), in order to assert the sovereignty of
    the Lebanese state over all of its territory, and should evict
    all terrorist and foreign forces from southern Lebanon,
    including Hizballah and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards;
    (5) the Government of Syria should halt the development and
    deployment of medium- and long-range surface-to-surface missiles
    and cease the development and production of biological and
    chemical weapons;
    (6) the Governments of Lebanon and Syria should enter into
    serious unconditional bilateral negotiations with the Government
    of Israel in order to realize a full and permanent peace;
    (7) the United States should continue to provide
    humanitarian and educational assistance to the people of Lebanon
    only through appropriate private, nongovernmental organizations
    and appropriate international organizations, until such time as
    the Government of Lebanon asserts sovereignty and control over
    all of its territory and borders and achieves full political
    independence, as called for in United Nations Security Council
    Resolution 520; and
    (8) as a violator of several key United Nations Security
    Council resolutions and as a nation that pursues policies which
    undermine international peace and security, Syria should not
    have been permitted to join the United Nations Security Council
    or serve as the Security Council's President, and should be
    removed from the Security Council.

    [[Page 2487]]
    117 STAT. 2487

    SEC. 4. <> STATEMENT OF POLICY.

    It is the policy of the United States that--
    (1) Syria should bear responsibility for attacks committed
    by Hizballah and other terrorist groups with offices, training
    camps, or other facilities in Syria, or bases in areas of
    Lebanon occupied by Syria;
    (2) the United States will work to deny Syria the ability to
    support acts of international terrorism and efforts to develop
    or acquire weapons of mass destruction;
    (3) the Secretary of State will continue to list Syria as a
    state sponsor of terrorism until Syria ends its support for
    terrorism, including its support of Hizballah and other
    terrorist groups in Lebanon and its hosting of terrorist groups
    in Damascus, and comes into full compliance with United States
    law relating to terrorism and United Nations Security Council
    Resolution 1373 (September 28, 2001);
    (4) the full restoration of Lebanon's sovereignty, political
    independence, and territorial integrity is in the national
    security interest of the United States;
    (5) Syria is in violation of United Nations Security Council
    Resolution 520 (September 17, 1982) through its continued
    occupation of Lebanese territory and its encroachment upon
    Lebanon's political independence;
    (6) Syria's obligation to withdraw from Lebanon is not
    conditioned upon progress in the Israeli-Syrian or Israeli-
    Lebanese peace process but derives from Syria's obligation under
    Security Council Resolution 520;
    (7) Syria's acquisition of weapons of mass destruction and
    ballistic missile programs threaten the security of the Middle
    East and the national security interests of the United States;
    (8) Syria will be held accountable for any harm to Coalition
    armed forces or to any United States citizen in Iraq if the
    government of Syria is found to be responsible due to its
    facilitation of terrorist activities and its shipments of
    military supplies to Iraq; and
    (9) the United States will not provide any assistance to
    Syria and will oppose multilateral assistance for Syria until
    Syria ends all support for terrorism, withdraws its armed forces
    from Lebanon, and halts the development and deployment of
    weapons of mass destruction and medium- and long-range surface-
    to-surface ballistic missiles.

    SEC. 5. <> PENALTIES AND
    AUTHORIZATION.

    (a) <> Penalties.--Until the President makes
    the determination that Syria meets all the requirements described in
    paragraphs (1) through (4) of subsection (d) and certifies such
    determination to Congress in accordance with such subsection--
    (1) the President shall prohibit the export to Syria of any
    item, including the issuance of a license for the export of any
    item, on the United States Munitions List or Commerce Control
    List of dual-use items in the Export Administration Regulations
    (15 CFR part 730 et seq.); and
    (2) the President shall impose two or more of the following
    sanctions:
    (A) Prohibit the export of products of the United
    States (other than food and medicine) to Syria.

    [[Page 2488]]
    117 STAT. 2488

    (B) Prohibit United States businesses from investing
    or operating in Syria.
    (C) Restrict Syrian diplomats in Washington, D.C.,
    and at the United Nations in New York City, to travel
    only within a 25-mile radius of Washington, D.C., or the
    United Nations headquarters building, respectively.
    (D) Prohibit aircraft of any air carrier owned or
    controlled by Syria to take off from, land in, or
    overfly the United States.
    (E) Reduce United States diplomatic contacts with
    Syria (other than those contacts required to protect
    United States interests or carry out the purposes of
    this Act).
    (F) Block transactions in any property in which the
    Government of Syria has any interest, by any person, or
    with respect to any property, subject to the
    jurisdiction of the United States.

    (b) Waiver.--The <> President may waive the
    application of subsection (a)(1), (a)(2), or both if the President
    determines that it is in the national security interest of the United
    States to do so and submits to the appropriate congressional committees
    a report containing the reasons for the determination.

    (c) Authority To Provide Assistance To Syria.--If the President--
    (1) <> makes the determination that
    Syria meets the requirements described in paragraphs (1) through
    (4) of subsection (d) and certifies such determination to
    Congress in accordance with such subsection;
    (2) determines that substantial progress has been made both
    in negotiations aimed at achieving a peace agreement between
    Israel and Syria and in negotiations aimed at achieving a peace
    agreement between Israel and Lebanon; and
    (3) determines that the Government of Syria is strictly
    respecting the sovereignty, territorial integrity, unity, and
    political independence of Lebanon under the sole and exclusive
    authority of the Government of Lebanon through the Lebanese army
    throughout Lebanon, as required under paragraph (4) of United
    Nations Security Council Resolution 520 (1982),

    then the President is authorized to provide assistance to Syria under
    chapter 1 of part I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (relating to
    development assistance).
    (d) Certification.--A certification under this subsection is a
    certification transmitted to the appropriate congressional committees of
    a determination made by the President that--
    (1) the Government of Syria has ceased providing support for
    international terrorist groups and does not allow terrorist
    groups, such as Hamas, Hizballah, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the
    Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and the Popular
    Front for the Liberation of Palestine--General Command to
    maintain facilities in territory under Syrian control;
    (2) the Government of Syria ended its occupation of Lebanon
    described in section 2(7) of this Act;
    (3) the Government of Syria has ceased the development and
    deployment of medium- and long-range surface-to-surface
    ballistic missiles, is not pursuing or engaged in the research,
    development, acquisition, production, transfer, or deployment of
    biological, chemical, or nuclear weapons, has provided credible
    assurances that such behavior will not be undertaken

    [[Page 2489]]
    117 STAT. 2489

    in the future, and has agreed to allow United Nations and other
    international observers to verify such actions and assurances;
    and
    (4) the Government of Syria has ceased all support for, and
    facilitation of, all terrorist activities inside of Iraq,
    including preventing the use of territory under its control by
    any means whatsoever to support those engaged in terrorist
    activities inside of Iraq.

    SEC. 6. <> REPORT.

    (a) <> Report.--Not later than 6 months after the
    date of the enactment of this Act, and every 12 months thereafter until
    the conditions described in paragraphs (1) through (4) of section 5(d)
    are satisfied, the Secretary of State shall submit to the appropriate
    congressional committees a report on--
    (1) Syria's progress toward meeting the conditions described
    in paragraphs (1) through (4) of section 5(d);
    (2) connections, if any, between individual terrorists and
    terrorist groups which maintain offices, training camps, or
    other facilities on Syrian territory, or operate in areas of
    Lebanon occupied by the Syrian armed forces, and terrorist
    attacks on the United States or its citizens, installations, or
    allies; and
    (3) how the United States is increasing its efforts against
    Hizballah and other terrorist organizations supported by Syria.

    (b) Form.--The report submitted under subsection (a) shall be in
    unclassified form but may include a classified annex.

    SEC. 7. <> DEFINITION OF APPROPRIATE
    CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES.

    In this Act, the term ``appropriate congressional committees'' means
    the Committee on International Relations of the House of Representatives
    and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate.

    Approved December 12, 2003.

    LEGISLATIVE HISTORY--H.R. 1828:
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    HOUSE REPORTS: No. 108-314 (Comm. on International Relations).
    CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 149 (2003):
    Oct. 15, considered and passed House.
    Nov. 11, considered and passed Senate, amended.
    Nov. 20, House concurred in Senate amendments.
    WEEKLY COMPILATION OF PRESIDENTIAL DOCUMENTS, Vol. 39 (2003):
    Dec. 12, Presidential statement.