Syria through its official media on Thursday criticized the United States' preliminary approval of a bill authorizing sanctions against it, saying the legislation was the work of extremists in Washington.

Syrian President Bashar Assad, right, meets with Sudanese Vice President Ali Othman Ahmad Taha in Damascus Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2003.  [AP]

Accusing Syria of sponsoring terrorists, occupying Lebanon and seeking weapons of mass destruction, the House International Relations Committee on Wednesday approved the Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Restoration Act. The act would give the president the right to impose sanctions on Syria.

There was no immediate reaction from Syrian government officials on Thursday, but the official Tishrin newspaper said the bill was drawn up by "ultra-extremists who are doing their best to make the atmosphere tense between Arabs and the American administration."

"The whole world knows that Syria is the country that demanded, and is still demanding, the clearing of the whole (Middle East) region of weapons of mass destruction, and it is abiding by the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, which Israel is refusing to join," wrote the political editor of Tishrin.

The House committee passed the bill, by 33 votes to 2, three days after Israeli warplanes struck an alleged Palestinian militant training camp outside Damascus. The strike came a day after a Palestinian suicide bomber killed 19 people in an Israeli restaurant. President Bush expressed approval of the Israeli retaliation.

Syria denies it supports terrorists, arguing that Palestinians have the right to oppose Israeli occupation of their territories.

Tishrin indicated Syria favors dialogue with Washington.

"It (Syria) is open to objective and constructive dialogue with all countries of the world," the editorial said.

The bill now goes to the full House, where it is expected to pass easily. It is also expected to pass the Senate with a comfortable majority.

Once enacted, the legislation would ban the export of weapons to Syria as well as items that could be used in weapons programs.

It would also give the president the right to impose two of the following sanctions: a ban on all U.S. exports to Syria except food or medicine; a ban of all American business investment in Syria; a restriction on the movement of Syrian diplomats in the United States; a ban on all Syrian-owned or -controlled aircraft from entering the United States; a reduction of diplomatic contact with Syria; or a freeze of Syrian assets in the United States.

A researcher on strategic affairs in Syria, Haitham al-Kilani, told The Associated Press on Thursday that the bill "would not affect Syria because commercial relations between the United States and Syria are very limited."

He said the likely victims of such sanctions would be American oil companies in Syria.

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