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Bush signs bill sanctioning Syria

President Bush signed legislation yesterday calling for economic penalties against Syria for not doing enough in the fight against terrorism in the Middle East and in Iraq.

Mr. Bush signed the bill into law with no fanfare before leaving the White House for the Camp David retreat in Maryland.

“My approval of the act does not constitute my adoption of the various statements of policy in the act as U.S. foreign policy,” Mr. Bush said

It states that Syria must end its support of terrorists, such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad, terminate its 27-year military presence in Lebanon and stop efforts to obtain or produce weapons of mass destruction.

If Syria fails to meet those conditions, the president must ban sales of dual-use items, which can have both civilian and military applications.

He also must impose at least two out of a list of six possible penalties: a ban on exports to Syria, prohibition of U.S. businesses’ operating in Syria, restrictions on Syrian diplomats in the United States, limits on Syrian airline flights in the United States, reduction of diplomatic contacts or a freeze on Syrian assets in the United States.

Officials sentenced for taking bribes

Two former senior Pentagon officials each were sentenced yesterday in Alexandria to 24⅓ years in prison for taking more than $1 million in bribes and accepting prostitutes from government contractors.

Robert Lee Neal Jr., 51, of Bowie, and Francis Delano Jones Jr., 51, of Fort Washington, also were ordered to jointly pay $1.75 million in restitution. The two men were convicted in U.S. District Court in July of conspiracy, extortion, money laundering, witness tampering and obstruction of justice.

Neal was appointed by President Clinton in 1996 to serve as director of the Pentagon’s office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (SADBU), which helps minority-owned businesses obtain defense contracts. Jones, his top assistant, joined the office in 1999.

Federal prosecutors said the men demanded bribes as high as $100,000 in certain cases and received $1.1 million in bribes and other illegal funds.

Whitewater penalty reduced for Tucker

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