May 13, 2004

European Union disregards US sanctions on Syria

The European Union has chosen to ignore US sanctions on Syria, and an EU economic delegation is scheduled to travel to Beirut and Damascus next week, reported IBA news Wednesday.

President George Bush approved sanctions due to Syria's continued aspiration to develop weapons of mass destruction, its support for terrorism, its enabling militants to cross its border into Iraq, and its continued occupation of Lebanon.

The EU delegation will include officials responsible for energy and transport, and its declared objective is to deepen EU – Syria cooperation.

British prime minister Tony Blair, however, said Britain was partner to the US anxiousness over Syrian intent to develop nuclear weapons and its support for terror.

This, as SecDef Rumsfeld would say, is not "helpful;" what the U.S. tries to do on one hand, the EU undoes on the other hand.
I don't want to say that the Franco-German-led EU is our "enemy," but they often come close and we can't include them as an effective bloc of Allies until they stop doing things like this!
Happily, when America puts sanctions on your country, it smarts quite a bit in today's economic world and favorable treatment from the EU won't ease that pain completely.

And Tony Blair had better rethink having Britain sign that EU Constitution.
If they did and the federal changes that France and Germany want went through, the British PM wouldn't be able to speak up in contradiction to the rest of the group as he's done here.
Syria is in the 2nd tier of Axis of Evil countries and will have to be dealt with sooner or later.
That the EU would throw Assad a bone is only putting off that day by a little but they've got to look as if they're an opposing force to us, at all costs.
Stupid jerks!