Leading Americans urge Syrian pullout from Lebanon

WASHINGTON -- Leading Americans are urging the Clinton administration to withhold all aid from Syria until it withdraws from Lebanon.

The group called on the administration to set as a priority efforts to force Syria to withdraw from Lebanon. The group of 32 prominent Americans, includes Senator Jesse Helms, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

The call came in a study issued by the Middle East Policy Forum headed by Daniel Pipes, according to Middle East Newsline. The report said the United States must ensure that Lebanon regains its independence as part of any comprehensive peace settlement.

Among the recommendations by the Philadelphia-based group was a ban on all U.S. aid to Syria even if Damascus signs a peace treaty with Israel. The aid would be linked to a Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon.

The study also called on the administration to end all aid to the Lebanese government, which is aligned with Damascus. Instead, the United States should help Lebanese nongovernmental organizations.

Another signatory was Richard Perle, a leading foreign policy adviser to Republican presidential candidate George Bush. Former U.S. envoy to the United Nations, Jeanne Kirkpatrick, also joined the call.

On Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright meets Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk A-Shaara in Cairo. Arab diplomatic sources said the United States plans to launch new efforts to renew negotiations between Israel and Syria.

In Beirut, Lebanese Prime Minister Salim Hoss tried to assuage rising criticism of the Syrian military occupation of Lebanon, which began in 1976. "The Syrian presence in Lebanon is legitimate and temporary," Hoss told the Doha-based Al Jazeera satellite television network.

On Monday, Lebanese Chief of Staff Gen. Michel Suleyman held talks in Damascus with Bashar Assad, the son of the Syrian president. Bashar is regarded as responsible for Damascus. Sources said the two discussed the military situation along the southern border with Israel.