They haven’t announced who it will be, but the Obama administration is returning an ambassador to Syria after four years, reports the Washington Post:
The acting assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, Jeffrey D. Feltman, informed Syria’s ambassador to Washington, Imad Mustafa, tonight 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 U.S. 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 U.S. relations with the Islamic world and the Arab Middle East.
The Bush administration withdrew its ambassador in February 2005 to protest the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq 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 administration believes the move will help with Middle East peace efforts:
"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." …
"We’re determined to engage in a comprehensive way in the region," the official said. "This is an important step we are taking as part of that strategy."
The official said the administration [Tuesday night] also informed the ambassadors of other countries in the region, including Israel.
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