US President George W. Bush was planning to impose economic sanctions on Syria yesterday for allegedly supporting terrorism and failing to stop guerrillas from entering Iraq, sources said.
Congressional sources said Bush was expected to curb future investments by US energy firms in Syria and prohibit Syrian aircraft from flying into the US.
Bush was also expected either to block transactions involving the Syrian government or to ban exports to Syria of US products other than food and medicine, the sources said.
The White House told key lawmakers late on Monday the announcement would be made yesterday, congressional aides said, but a White House spokesman declined to comment on the timing.
Some lawmakers had complained that Bush appeared to be appeasing Damascus by not implementing the penalties under the so-called Syria Accountability Act passed last year.
Representatives Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a Republican, and Eliot Engel, a Democrat, said they were preparing legislation for stiffer penalties on Syria and additional measures to isolate and weaken its government.
The Bush administration defended the delay, saying it needed time to devise a plan that would have a "real impact" on Damascus.
Officials said the administration was also concerned the sanctions could worsen tensions in the Middle East and wanted to wait until after a series of recent high-level meetings in Washington with Arab and Israeli leaders.
"We want to see Syria change their behavior," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said. "These are serious matters."
Bush's move against Syria would stand in contrast to his decision to ease sanctions on Libya as a reward for the scrapping of its nuclear arms programs. Bush has seized on Libya's pledge to abandon the weapons as an example for other countries, including Syria.
Some members of the US administration believe Syria has centrifuges that can purify uranium for use in atomic bombs, though the intelligence community is divided on the issue, diplomats and experts said last week.
The Syria Accountability Act bars trade in items that could be used in weapons programs.
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