For the first time in more than 30 years Syria has been elected to a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council. The unopposed candidate of the Asian coalition, Syria received 160 Yes votes among the 177 ballots cast on Monday in the 189-member General Assembly.
The two-year term begins on January 1st, 2002.
Israel was the only country to vote against Syria. In the run-up to the election, 38 pro-Israeli members of the US House of Representatives called upon the Bush Administration to block Damascus's bid.
Mr Eliot Engel, a Democratic Congressman from New York, sent a letter to the US President, calling on him oppose Syria because it remained on the State Department's list of countries accused of sponsoring terrorism. "While the World Trade Centre lay in ruins, Syria's inclusion in the Security Council would send precisely the wrong signal to the international community at this critical time and would be counter-productive to America's efforts to put a halt to global terror," Mr Engel said.
He was supported by Mr Tom Lantos, a Holocaust survivor and the senior Democrat on the House International Relations Committee.
Mr Lantos called the election of Syria to the Council "an outrage, making a mockery of the council's recent counterterrorism resolutions."
The Congressmen's last-ditch campaign to prevent Syria's election had no more chance of success than a protracted effort by the Administration. A former Assistant Secretary of State, Mr Edward Walker, pointed out: "Our ability to block Syria as opposed to a Sudan or a Libya \also accused of terrorism by the US is limited."
While the five permanent places on the Council are held by the veto-wielding US, UK, France, Russia and China, none has veto powers over procedural matters controlled by the Assembly, where votes are secret. Traditionally the Assembly accepts the choice of each regional caucus, assuring the nominee almost automatic election.
Syria was the unopposed choice of the Arab states and was endorsed by the Asian grouping as the replacement for Bangladesh.
For Arab and Muslim Asian powers the election of Syria at this time of crisis is appropriate precisely because of its inclusion on the US list of countries supporting terrorism.
Most Arab and Muslim governments are concerned that Washington will expand its military campaign to embrace groups other than al-Qaida, held responsible for the attacks on the US, and countries other than Afghanistan.
Once it takes its seat on the Council Syria, a potential target, can be expected to oppose military action beyond the Afghan theatre of war.
