[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 40, Number 20 (Monday, May 17, 2004)]
[Pages 868-870]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Message to the Congress Reporting on the Issuance of the Executive Order 
Blocking Property of Certain Persons and Prohibiting the Export of 
Certain Goods to Syria

May 11, 2004

To the Congress of the United States:

    Consistent with subsection 204(b) of the International Emergency 
Economic Powers Act, 50 U.S.C. 1703(b) (IEEPA), and section

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301 of the National Emergencies Act, 50 U.S.C. 1631, I hereby report 
that I have issued an Executive Order (order) in which I declared a 
national emergency with respect to the threat constituted by certain 
actions of the Government of Syria. Further, in accordance with 
subsection 5(b) of the Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty 
Restoration Act of 2003 (SAA), Public Law 108-175, this message also 
constitutes the report on my exercise of the waiver authority pursuant 
to that statute.

    On December 12, 2003, I signed into law the SAA in order to 
strengthen the ability of the United States to effectively confront the 
threat to U.S. national security posed by Syria's support for terrorism, 
its military presence in Lebanon, its pursuit of weapons of mass 
destruction, and its actions to undermine U.S. and international efforts 
with respect to the stabilization and reconstruction of Iraq. These 
policies by the Government of Syria directly threaten regional stability 
and undermine the U.S. goal of a comprehensive Middle East peace. 
Despite many months of diplomatic efforts to convince the Government of 
Syria to change its behavior, Syria has not taken significant, concrete 
steps to address the full range of U.S. concerns, which were clearly 
conveyed by Secretary of State Powell to Syrian President Asad in May 
2003. I find the actions, policies, and circumstances described above 
sufficiently grave to constitute a threat to the national security, 
foreign policy, and economy of the United States, and thus have declared 
a national emergency to address that threat.

    In implementation of subsection 5(a) of the SAA, in the order I 
directed that action be taken to prohibit the export to Syria of 
products of the United States other than food and medicine, including 
but not limited to items on the United States Munitions List or Commerce 
Control List, and I prohibited commercial air services between Syria and 
the United States by aircraft of any air carrier owned or controlled by 
Syria, as well as certain non-traffic stops by such aircraft.

    It is important to the national security interests of the United 
States, however, that certain discrete categories of exports continue in 
order to support activities of the United States Government and United 
Nations agencies, to facilitate travel by United States persons, for 
certain humanitarian purposes, to help maintain aviation safety, and to 
promote the exchange of information. Also, it is important to U.S. 
national security interests that aviation-related sanctions take into 
account humanitarian and diplomatic concerns as well as the 
international obligations of the United States.

    Accordingly, I have waived the application of subsections 5(a)(1) 
and 5(a)(2)(A) of the SAA to permit the export and reexport of: products 
in support of activities of the United States Government to the extent 
that such exports would not otherwise fall within my constitutional 
authority to conduct the Nation's foreign affairs and protect national 
security; medicines on the Commerce Control List and medical devices; 
aircraft parts and components for purposes of flight safety; exports and 
reexports consistent with the 5(a)(2)(D) waiver outlined below; 
information and informational materials, as well as telecommunications 
equipment and associated items to promote the free flow of information; 
certain software and technology; products in support of United Nations 
operations; and, certain exports and reexports of a temporary nature. 
These items are further identified in the Department of Commerce's 
General Order No. 2, as issued consistent with my order. I have also 
waived the application of subsection 5(a)(2)(D) to permit the following 
with respect to aircraft of any air carrier owned or controlled by 
Syria: takeoffs or landings of such aircraft when chartered by the 
Government of Syria to transport Syrian government officials to the 
United States on official Syrian government business; takeoffs or 
landings for non-traffic stops of such aircraft that are not engaged in 
scheduled international air services; takeoffs and landings associated 
with an emergency; and overflights of U.S. territory.

                                                George W. Bush
 The White House,
 May 11, 2004.

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