The truth is that the Syrian and Lebanese governments

 Tony Haddad

Frequently over the past four years, many media reports, particularly those coming out of Syrian and Syrian-dominated Lebanese outlets, have taken potshots at the Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Restoration Act by referring to it as an anti Arab Bill which was introduced by the Israeli lobby and pushed forward on behalf of Israeli interests.  Syrian and Lebanese authorities have also attempted to downplay the impact of the bill by saying that it would have no impact on Syria nor on its grip over Lebanon.  It is time now that the truth be told.

 The truth is that the Syrian and Lebanese governments, as well as many in the Syrian and Lebanese media, know and have always known that the Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Restoration Act was the fruit of a relentless four-year lobbying effort by the Lebanese Americans, specifically the Lebanese American Council for Democracy ( www.la-cd.org ), written with intensive consultation of the LACD, and introduced by Congressmen who are strongly supported by Lebanese Americans.  Congress was lobbied relentlessly by Lebanese Americans; lobbied so hard, in fact, that nearly every Representative and Senator fro! m every corner of America was contacted by Lebanese American constituents, knew that this was a Lebanese effort, and voted in favor of the legislation.  The White House was lobbied equally as hard; so hard, in fact, that the White House was forced due to overwhelming pressure from Congress and from Lebanese Americans to reverse its position on the bill.  Yet, the Syrian and Lebanese governments and media outlets, totally cognizant of these facts, have chosen to turn a blind eye to the truth, and have repeatedly reported that “Israelis” were the driving force behind this effort; even now, the majority of media outlets refer to this landmark legislation as the “Syria Punishment Act” instead of its true name, the Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Restoration Act (SALSRA).  Semantics aside, the true me! aning of these facts is that when Lebanese people were permitted to speak their minds freely—in America as opposed to in Lebanon—their voice, from every corner of America, was loud and clear:  Syria must be held accountable, and Lebanon must be freed from Syria’s grip.

Syrian and Lebanese politicians and journalists also frequently claim that the new legislation poses no real threat to Syria nor to its domination of Lebanon.  When the law was introduced in Congress, they brushed it off as having no “teeth.”  When it was re-introduced the following year, they kept up their façade of imperviousness.  And their phony confidence continued as Lebanese Americans pushed the law through both Houses of Congress and the White House.  Now, with last week’s imposition of sanctions through a presidential Executive Order, the full impact of these sanctions is about to smack Syria and Syria’s puppets in Lebanon directly in the face.  Th! ey are about to be bitten by those same “teeth” which their rhetoric claims do not exist.  They are about to find that the SALSRA is the most powerful tool thus far for the Liberation of Lebanon.

 Syrian and Lebanese government figures should pay particular attention to Section 3(A)(ii) of the Executive Order of the President of the United States which States:

Sec. 3. (a) … all property and interests in property of the following persons, that are in the United States, that hereafter come within the United States, or that are or hereafter come within the possession or control of United States persons, including their overseas branches, are blocked and may not be transferred, paid, exported, withdrawn, or otherwise dealt in:   persons who are determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, (ii) to be or to have been directing or otherwise significantly contributing to the Government of Syria's military or security presence in Lebanon;

A close reading of this provision makes clear that as of now, today, any person or entity—Syrian, Lebanese, American, or otherwise—that is or has been significantly contributing to the Syrian occupation of Lebanon is subject to a total freeze on whatever American assets that person or entity has.  This provision should send shudders down the spine of virtually every Syrian puppet in Lebanon, from the top of the puppet government to the bottom.  Any statement that promotes the occupation, any action taken which supports the occupation, can and will be used to freeze that person’s American assets. 

Let everyone be forewarned that those same Lebanese Americans who achieved the SALSRA have taken it upon themselves to form a watchdog committee of legal professionals and volunteers to continuously monitor, document and report every statement or action in support of the continued Syrian military presence in Lebanon. It is the intention of these Lebanese Americans to pursue every avenue available in the American legal system to see to it that the executive order is fully enforced and that the assets of those contributing to the Syrian military presence in Lebanon are permanently frozen.

It has also been frequently said in the media outlets that the sanctions will be ineffective because Syria will use Lebanon and Lebanese companies and banks to do its work.  But any such company or bank should be forewarned:  The executive order is clear that any person or entity that helps circumvent any of the sanctions will be subject to the same sanctions.  According to the “toothless” SALSRA law, any bank that is be used by the Syrians to circumvent the sanctions will have its assets frozen and will be put on the same list as the Syrian Bank and the Syrian Lebanese Commercial Bank.

The time has come for every official in the Lebanese puppet government to make a choice.  They can either continue their support for the Syrian presence in Lebanon, and thus face the same consequences as the Syrians themselves, or, they must fundamentally change course and start building for a free, independent, and prosperous Lebanon.

Let this massive achievement be a message not only to Syria and its Lebanese puppets that the time for change has come, but let it also be a message to the Lebanese people that working for your rights is the only way to achieve them.  For every Lebanese American who obsessively campaigned for the SALSRA, there were 100 nay-sayers who insisted that the SALSRA would never happen, instead of asking “how can I help?”.  The historic achievement of the SALSRA and the President’s Executive Order shows the power of the Lebanese Americans, and with more and more help and support, and more positive thinking, the impact that we can make is limitless. 

Tony Haddad

President
Lebanese American Council for Democracy
601 Pennsylvania Ave, NW
Suite 900  South Building
Washington DC 20004
Tel: (202) 220-3039