U.S. Said to Weigh Sanctions on Syria Over Iraqi Network

The Bush administration is considering imposing new (1) __________ on Syria to prod it to crack down on Iraqis there who are providing financial and logistical support to insurgents in Iraq. The Syrian government has not taken action against the network of Iraqis despite months of quiet (2) __________ from the United States. Among the steps being considered is a Treasury Department action that could essentially isolate the Syrian banking system.

Syrian officials have sought to rebut the American (3) ___________ by saying the United States has yet to provide them with sufficient accurate information to prompt action against the individual Iraqis who the Americans say are in the network. American and Syrian officials have held high-level meetings in recent months to address their differences, and Syria has said repeatedly that it is committed to working with the United States toward a peaceful, unified Iraq.

Syria has long been subject to limited economic sanctions by the United States because of its designation by the State Department as a (4) __________ of terrorism. Under pressure from Congress, the Bush administration imposed additional measures last spring that prohibit exports to Syria of most goods, excluding food and medicine, and prohibit commercial flights between the United States and Syria by Syrian-owned aircraft.

The main additional tool being weighed by the administration for possible further sanctions is authority wielded by the Treasury Department, which in May labeled the Commercial Bank of Syria a (5) ____________ institution of "primary money laundering concern." The designation was a response to what the department called the role played by the Syrian bank in (6) ___________ money illegally diverted by Mr. Hussein's government from the United Nations-administered oil-for-food program.

Further steps by the Treasury are possible, the most severe of which would be to (7) __________ any American bank, broker or mutual fund from dealing with the Syrian bank, the country's single government-owned financial institution that specializes in foreign exchange transactions.

One American counterterrorism official said the threat of further action had already served to focus Syrian attention on the problem. The official said Treasury officials had met several times in recent months with their Syrian (8) ___________ to discuss the issue.

Ex. 10. Work in pairs or in small groups. Discuss the following issues:

1. Diplomacy: principles and purposes.

2. Preventive Diplomacy: protests and denunciations, sanctions, monitoring and verification of agreements, peacekeeping, etc.

3. Foreign policy: goals and strategies.

4. Case studies.

Содержание

Unit 1. Word Order. ______________________________________3

Unit 2. International Organizations __________________________ 9

Unit 3. Hot Spots. _______________________________________15

Unit 4. Terrorism. _______________________________________ 21

Unit 5. Global Issues. ____________________________________ 26

Unit 6. Elections. ________________________________________31

Unit 7. Human Rights. ____________________________________37

Unit 8. Diplomacy _______________________________________43

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