The Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Restoration Act (SALSRA,) is a
bill of the
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...
passed into law on December 12, 2003.
The bill's stated purpose is to end what the United States sees as Syrian support for terrorism, to end Syria's presence in Lebanon, which has been in effect since the end of the
Lebanese Civil War
The Lebanese Civil War ( ) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 150,000 fatalities and led to the exodus of almost one million people from Lebanon.
The religious diversity of the ...
in 1990, to stop Syria's alleged development of
WMDs, to cease Syria's illegal importation of Iraqi oil and to end illegal shipments of military items to anti-US forces in Iraq.
The bill was sponsored by Representative
Eliot L. Engel (D) from New York and was introduced April 12, 2003.
2013 Ghouta chemical attack
In response to the use of chemical weapons against civilians during the 2013
Ghouta chemical attack
The Ghouta chemical attack was a chemical attack carried out by the forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, in the early hours of 21 August 2013 in Ghouta, Syria during the Syrian civil war. Two opposition-controlled areas in the subur ...
, president
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
asked Congress to authorize the use of military force against Syria. An early draft of that authorization cites the Syria Accountability Act, saying:
Whereas in the Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Restoration Act of 2003, Congress found that Syria’s acquisition of weapons of mass destruction threatens the security of the Middle East and the national security interests of the United States.
See also
*
Pax Syriana
References
External links
The full text of the act
from georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov
Syria–United States relations
2003 in Syria
2003 in international relations
2003 in Lebanon
Counterterrorism in the United States
Lebanon–Syria relations
Terrorism laws in the United States
Terrorism in Syria
United States foreign relations legislation
Sanctions legislation
Acts of the 108th United States Congress
United States sanctions
Michel Aoun
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