U.S. sanctions 271 people in Syria
WASHINGTON — Following up on a limited U.S. military strike against Syria, the Trump administration issued sanctions Monday on 271 people linked to the Syrian agency responsible for producing non-conventional weapons, part of an ongoing U.S. crackdown on Syrian President Bashar Assad’s alleged use of chemical weapons.
The effort to impose a sweeping punishment targets employees of Syria’s Scientific Studies and Research Center, which the U.S. says partly enables the use of chemical weapons. The U.S. has blamed Mr. Assad for an attack this month that killed nearly 100 civilians in Idlib.
“The United States is sending a strong message with this action: That we will not tolerate the use of chemical weapons by any actor,” Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said Monday. He said it was one of the largest such sanctions actions in U.S. history.
The sanctions more than double the number of Syrian individuals and entities whose property has been blocked by the U.S. and who are barred from financial transactions with American people or firms.
In January, the Treasury Department blacklisted 18 Syrians, including six connected to the scientific studies center, after an investigation by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons determined the government was responsible for three chlorine gas attacks.
Administration officials said they focused on highly educated Syrian officials with deep expertise in chemistry who were thought to have the ability to travel extensively and possibly to use the American financial system.
Afghanistan deteriorates
A devastating Taliban attack on an Afghan army base last week that reportedly killed more than 160 soldiers has shaken up the government in Kabul, forcing the resignations of the country’s defense minister, Gen. Abdullah Habibi, and the army chief of staff, Gen. Qadam Shah Shahim, as U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis made a surprise visit to survey the deteriorating situation.
The weakness of the Afghan military adds urgency to a request from Gen. John Nicholson, in charge of U.S. forces there, for more troops. The White House is reviewing U.S. strategy in Afghanistan, including troop levels.
Gen. Nicholson said Monday that the Taliban appears to be receiving weapons from Russia, further complicating the war.
Canada trade fight
The Trump administration moved Monday to impose a 20 percent tariff on softwood lumber entering the U.S. from Canada, escalating an intensifying trade dispute between the two neighbors stemming from worries that Canada may be subsidizing its wood industry in a way that hurts U.S. rivals.
Amid the administration’s first major trade action against Canada, Mr. Trump reportedly threatened that dairy could be next.
No ‘genocide’ mention
Mr. Trump on Monday carefully avoided the term “genocide” in marking the slaughter of Armenians during the Ottoman Empire’s reign, following the lead of his Democratic and Republican predecessors.