US Ties: Normalization Depends on Syria-Iran-Hizbullah Ties (Syria-Report‪)‬

The United States has long been asking Syria to reconsider its strategic alliance with Iran and to stop its support for anti-Israeli militant groups, like Lebanon's Iranian-backed Hizbullah and the Palestinian Hamas movement whose exiled leadership is based in Damascus. Also, since the 2002 U.S. invasion of Iraq, Washington has been asking Damascus to prevent militants from crossing the Syrian border into Iraq to fight U.S.-led coalition forces. These long-standing demands, adopted by previous U.S. administrations, have been set as conditions for any improvement of U.S.-Syrian relations. These relations have been strained for years because of Syria's support for Hizbullah and Hamas resulting in its being placed on the U.S. State Department's list of countries supporting and sponsoring terrorism. However, Syria, whose Golan Heights has been occupied by Israel since 1967 and by virtue of its commitment to support the Palestinian cause and resistance movements fighting to end Israeli occupation of Arab lands, has staunchly refused to meet these U.S. demands. Syria's hardline stance on Israel and its strong support for resistance movements, labeled "terrorist" organizations by Washington, has led to its being internationally isolated in past years, especially by the administration of former U.S. President George W. Bush and his Western allies. Bush also imposed U.S. sanctions on Syria in May 2004, accusing it of supporting terrorism, pursuing weapons of mass destruction and undermining U.S. operations in Iraq. Bush hoped the sanctions would make Syria change its policy.