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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 from 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 meaning 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. They
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 |
