Region | Syria
Obama to name ambassador to Syria
President Obama has decided to return a US ambassador to Syria after an absence of more than four years, marking a significant step toward engaging an influential Arab nation long at odds with the United States.
- Los Angeles Times-Washington Post
- Published: 22:47 June 24, 2009
Washington: President Obama has decided to return a US ambassador to Syria after an absence of more than four years, marking a significant step toward engaging an influential Arab nation long at odds with the United States.
The acting assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, Jeffrey Feltman, informed Syria's ambassador to Washington, Emad Mustafa, on Tuesday night of Obama's intention, according to a senior administration official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the decision had yet to be made public.
By returning a senior US envoy to Damascus, the Syrian capital, the Obama administration is seeking to carve out a far larger role for the United States in the region as the president works to rehabilitate US relations with the Islamic world and the Arab Middle East.
In response Ath-Thawra, a Syrian government newspaper echoed Washington's overtures, stating: "Today, there is real optimism because the two parties realise the importance of improving bilateral relations in order to achieve global peace."
The Bush administration withdrew its ambassador in February 2005 to protest the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Al Hariri.
Syrian intelligence officials are suspected of being behind the bombing in Beirut that killed him, a claim Syrian President Bashar Al Assad has long rejected.
The loss of US diplomatic leverage in the region - because of opposition among many Arabs to the Iraq war and a perceived US favouritism toward Israel - has left a vacuum in recent years filled in large part by Iran.
The decision to return the ambassador to Syria, senior administration officials said, represents the restoration of a sustained US diplomatic presence in a secular Arab country central to many US interests in the region.
"It did not make any sense to us not to be able to speak with an authoritative voice in Damascus," the senior administration official said. "It was our assessment that total disengagement has not served our interests."
The decision follows a series of recent visits to Syria by high-level US military and diplomatic delegations, including a trip there this month by Obama's Middle East envoy, George Mitchell.
Syria's ruling clique is Alawite, a Shiite sect, and has close relations with the Shiite leadership of Iranian government now confronting the biggest challenge to its authority in three decades.
Iran and Syria support the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah, which the United States considers a terrorist organisation. In addition, Syria has served as a transit point for foreign fighters travelling to Iraq.
The Bush administration frequently called on the government to stop the flow across its long border. The issue was recently raised by a visiting Pentagon and Central Command delegation.
Finally, Al Assad is central to resolving the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Do you think this will revive ties between Syria and the US? Will this reflect a significant shift in US foreign policy towards the Middle East?
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