IV 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 1285 

Condemning the Government of Syria for transferring Scud missiles to the 

Hizballah terrorist organization, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 21, 2010 

Mr. ENGEL (for himself and Mr. KIRK) submitted the following resolution; 

which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

RESOLUTION 

Condemning the Government of Syria for transferring Scud 

missiles to the Hizballah terrorist organization, and for 

other purposes. 

Whereas Hizballah was designated as a foreign terrorist organization by Secretaries of State Albright, Powell, Rice, 

and Clinton in accordance with section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act; 

Whereas, according to the United States District Court for 

the District of Columbia, Hizballah murdered 241 United 

States servicemen in 1983 at the Marine barracks in Beirut; 

Whereas Hizballah also claimed responsibility for the murder 

of 17 Americans at the United States Embassy in Beirut 

in 1983 under the pseudonym, ‘‘Islamic Jihad’’; 


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•HRES 1285 IH 

Whereas Hizballah receives direction, weapons, and millions 

of dollars per year from Iran and is strongly supported 

by Syria; 

Whereas Syria was first designated as a state sponsor of terrorism by President Carter on December 29, 1979; 

Whereas Presidents Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Bush, and 

Obama reaffirmed Syria’s designation as a state sponsor 

of terrorism; 

Whereas the Government of Syria allows Iran to transfer 

weapons to Hizballah across the Syrian-Lebanese border 

in violation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701; 

Whereas the Government of Syria has materially supported 

Iran’s efforts to rearm Hizballah reportedly with greater 

quantity and quality of rockets and missiles than it had 

before the August 2006 conflict; 

Whereas recent media reports state that the Government of 

Syria directly transferred Scud missiles to Hizballah; 

Whereas Scud missiles in the hands of the Hizballah terrorist 

organization put the lives of United States citizens and 

the security of democratic allies like the State of Israel 

in serious jeopardy; 

Whereas a Department of State spokesperson stated on April 

19, 2010, ‘‘the United States condemns in the strongest 

terms the transfer of any arms, and especially ballistic 

missile systems such as the SCUD, from Syria to 

Hizballah. . . . The transfer of these arms can only have 

a destabilizing effect on the region, and would pose an 

immediate threat to both the security of Israel and the 

sovereignty of Lebanon.’’; 


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•HRES 1285 IH 

Whereas, on July 26, 2009, Special Envoy George Mitchell 

informed the Government of Syria that the United States 

would process requests for waivers normally and expeditiously with regard to spare aircraft parts, informationtechnology products and telecommunications equipment; 

Whereas, on February 16, 2010, President Obama nominated 

Robert Ford to be Ambassador to Syria; and 

Whereas, in the wake of the Government of Syria’s reported 

decision to transfer Scud missiles to the Hizballah terrorist organization, any perceived easing of sanctions 

would be seen as condoning Syria’s dangerous efforts to 

destabilize the Middle East and undermine peace: Now, 

therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) strongly condemns the Government of Syria 

3 for transferring Scud missiles and other advanced 

4 weapons and missile systems to the Hizballah ter5 rorist organization; 

6 (2) strongly condemns the Government of Syria 

7 for materially supporting the transfer of Iranian 

8 weapons to Hizballah across the Syrian-Lebanese 

9 border in violation of United Nations Security Coun10 cil Resolution 1701; 

11 (3) urges the President to reevaluate the nomi12 nation of Robert Ford as Ambassador to Syria; 

13 (4) urges the President to tighten and enforce 

14 all existing sanctions against the Government of 

15 Syria; 


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•HRES 1285 IH 

1 (5) urges the President to impose all sanctions 

2 authorized by the Syria Accountability and Lebanese 

3 Sovereignty Restoration Act of 2003 (Public Law 

4 108–175; 22 U.S.C. 2151 note) against the Govern5 ment of Syria; 

6 (6) urges the President and the Secretary of 

7 State to work with United States allies to increase 

8 international pressure on Syria for its support of 

9 terrorist groups; and 

10 (7) urges the President, the Secretary of State, 

11 and the Secretary of the Treasury to use all tools at 

12 their disposal to increase pressure on the Govern13 ment of Syria to comply with its international obli14 gations and end its sponsorship of the Hizballah ter15 rorist organization. 

Æ 


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