Accusing Syria of Aiding Terrorists, Bush Imposes Sanctions

President Bush banned all exports to Syria except food and medicine Tuesday, fulfilling a long-standing threat to impose sanctions against a country the United States accuses of sheltering terrorists and undermining the reconstruction of Iraq.

Syria’s alleged misdeeds were “sufficiently grave to constitute a threat to the national security, foreign policy and economy of the United States,” Bush said in a message to Congress.

The sanctions also ban Syrian airlines from flying to or from the United States; restrict relations between U.S. banks and the Syrian national bank; and authorize the U.S. Treasury Department to freeze assets of Syrian nationals allegedly involved in terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, occupation of Lebanon or terrorism in Iraq.

Syrian officials scoffed at the move. Many Syrians believe the United States is punishing them for their nation’s defiant stance toward Israel.

“We’re resigned to it, and we’re not worried that it will have a significant effect,” said Nabil Sukkar, a former World Bank economist. “The only effect will be psychological. It will damage Syria’s image, and that’s what we’re concerned about.”

Syrian Prime Minister Naji Otari issued a statement Tuesday contending that his nation was “capable of facing the challenge [of sanctions] and overcoming their ramifications.”

The sanctions come during a difficult period for Syria. Violence has shattered the usual calm there this year as Kurdish riots swept the country and militants staged an attack in the heart of Damascus’ diplomatic quarter. Analysts interpreted the violence as cracks in the government’s grip on the populace.

“The regime prides itself on stability,” said a Western diplomat. “It’s the one thing it’s been able to provide.”

Last year, when Baghdad fell to U.S.-led forces, many Syrians worried that Damascus could be next. But some swagger has recently been creeping back into Syrian rhetoric. The bloodier and more chaotic Iraq becomes, the more Syrians take comfort in the idea that America won’t have the will or political ability to take on another Arab government.

“It’s gotten so bad that America is oscillating between asking Syria for help on Iraq or chastising Syrians for opposing the resistance,” said Georges Jabbour, a Syrian lawmaker.

In December, Congress passed the Syrian Accountability Act to prod Bashar Assad’s regime to fall in line with U.S. policy. The act outlawed any exports to Syria that might have military uses but allowed U.S. companies to continue doing business in the country. Syria was criticized for allegedly allowing Arab guerrillas to slip over the border into Iraq to join the anti-American insurgency.

The Bush administration also accused Syria of developing weapons of mass destruction, particularly chemical and biological weapons.

Damascus has denied the weapons claims, and some Syrian officials have said the entire region should disarm -- meaning Israel should be stripped of its nuclear weapons.

Many Syrians believe they have a right to such weapons as long as they’re at war with Israel.

“We have weapons that will allow us to defend ourselves if we are attacked,” said Zuheir Jannan, a longtime government spokesman. “To make sure that if there is a war of aggression against Syria, not only Syrian women would cry, but Israeli women would cry too.”

America has long criticized Syria for harboring members of Palestinian militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad, and for supporting the Lebanon-based group Hezbollah.

Western diplomats say guns for Hezbollah are still moving through Syria en route to Lebanon from Iran. Khaled Meshaal, a powerful Hamas leader, lives in Damascus.

Syria says the militant organizations keep only media offices in Damascus. As for Meshaal, “we consider him a Palestinian leader fighting for the liberation of his land,” Jannan said.

“These groups are engaged in a violent attempt to block the peace process, to block Palestinian aspirations and to kill innocent people,” the State Department’s Richard Boucher said.

The U.S. has also called on Syria to withdraw its troops from Lebanon, which is under the de facto control of its eastern neighbor. Syrians contend that Lebanon wants their soldiers to stay in order to keep the peace.

Times staff writers Paul Richter and Mary Curtius in Washington contributed to this report.