Official U.S. sources have told Al-Hayat that the White House is shortly to issue a presidential decree against several Syrian and Lebanese figures on charges of undermining Lebanese stability. The decree will impose economic sanctions on these figures and ban them from entering the U.S. Among the Lebanese named in the decree are MPs close to the Syrian regime, including Abd Al-Rahim Murad and Nasser Qandil. Among the Syrians are military intelligence chief Assef Shawkat; the former Syrian military intelligence chief in Lebanon, Rustum Ghazale, and two advisors to Syrian president Bashar Assad.
Source: Al-Hayat, London, June 26, 2007.
