Six years after the last US ambassador left Damascus, a new ambassador has been appointed, raising questions about US intentions, writes Bassel Oudat in Damascus In a step that could be perceived as a challenge to Republican members of Congress, US President Barack Obama has appointed Robert Ford as the new US ambassador to Syria after congressional hearings on the matter were frozen in February 2010. Ford, who will be the first US ambassador to Damascus in six years, was welcomed in Syrian official circles, which expected the appointment to "assist in raising the level of contacts between the governments of the two countries." Syria's media described the appointment as "a challenge" to the US Republican Party and a way of "circumventing the unprecedented obstruction" that Obama's political opponents were imposing on certain appointments. US-Syrian relations deteriorated sharply after the launch of the US-led war on Iraq in 2003, hitting rock bottom in 2005, when Washington withdrew its ambassador to Damascus and accused the Syrian regime of assassinating former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Al-Hariri. The US then treated Syria as a state that supported terrorism in Iraq and Palestine and as a destabilising force in Lebanon. However, when Obama began his tenure as US president relations between the two countries began to improve, with the State Department declaring in June 2009 that it would nominate a new ambassador to oversee diplomatic relations with Damascus. The appointment was referred to Congress last February, but the latter refused to confirm Ford's appointment and instead renewed economic sanctions against Syria. Although the Obama administration has launched dialogue with Syria, many issues of contention between the two sides remain. From the US perspective, Syria is still suspected of supporting radical movements or terrorist organisations in Iraq and Palestine, and it is considered to be an ally of Iran and a country rejecting peace with Israel. Following the announcement of Ford's appointment, the reasons behind Obama's decision were quickly given. P J Crowley, the US State Department spokesperson, said that the presence of a senior official in Damascus "will facilitate the delivery of strong and unambiguous messages to the Syrian government and enhance US interests and security in the Middle East," adding that the absence of a US ambassador in Damascus "does not serve any purpose except to harm the many interests of the US in Damascus and in the Middle East." Crowley said that sending a new ambassador to Syria "should not be viewed as a reward for the Syrian government, but it provides us with a channel to deliver firm messages to the Syrian government and clearly convey our interests and priorities to Damascus and others in the region." Crowley expects the new ambassador to address US concerns about what she described as "Syrian movements in the region". Republican politicians expressed their anger at Obama's decision, with in-coming chairwoman of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the House of Representatives, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, describing the appointment as "a concession to the Syrian regime, which is undermining stability in Lebanon by backing Hizbullah". Ros-Lehtinen said that "making underserved concessions to Syria tells the regime in Damascus that it can continue to pursue its dangerous agenda and not face any consequences from the US. That is the wrong message to be sending to a regime which continues to harm and threaten US interests and those of such critical allies as Israel." There was only one European response to the appointment, which came from France. French Foreign Ministry deputy-spokesperson Christine Fage welcomed Ford's appointment, considering the move to be "a strong signal from the US to Syria that enhances peace efforts". Ford is a career diplomat, previously serving as US ambassador to Algeria and in US embassies in Bahrain, Egypt and Turkey. He also served as deputy head of mission in Baghdad, and he is considered to be one of the top Arabists in the US State Department. He is known to favour a diplomacy of "strict monitoring" and was active in the second half of the 1990s in lobbying for the Iraq Liberation Act and the Syria Accountability Act, both applying pressure on the respective regimes. He has also been an advocate of changes in the distribution of power in the Middle East and Arabian Gulf. Ford's primary mission in Damascus has been described in US circles as being to "quickly pave the way for a relaunch of peace talks between Syria and Israel" and to "redirect Syria's relations with Iran, Iraq, Hamas and Hizbullah, such that they are more in line with Syria's public foreign policy, US-Syrian common interests and security and stability in the Middle East." Commenting on the appointment, Saber Falhout, former chairman of Syria's Press Syndicate and presidential media adviser, said that the appointment would not be enough to achieve the new ambassador's mission "to improve relations between the two countries and make the US administration realise that it cannot overlook Syria when discussing the Arab region." "The US has many interests in the region," Falhout told Al-Ahram Weekly, "and Syria is a difficult but important bridge. It is normal that a superpower like the US should seek good relations with Syria and listen to Syrian points of view, especially because of Syrian expertise in a number of regional issues, among them the core issue for the Arab nation, which is the Palestinian cause." While the US has said that the number of foreign fighters thought to be entering Iraq across the Syrian border has fallen, Washington is still concerned by what it sees as Syrian interference in the internal affairs of Iraq and allegations that Damascus is providing weapons to Hizbullah and Hamas. Washington wants Damascus to curb its ties with Iran and to implement political reforms, and these are immediate issues that the new US ambassador will place on the table for discussion. In appointing a new ambassador to Damascus, the US administration's intention is not to offer concessions to Damascus or to sanction Syrian policies. Rather, it wants to post an experienced diplomat in the Syrian capital, capable of commenting frankly on Syrian actions. Appointing a new ambassador to Damascus is part of US diplomatic activity in the Middle East and of the US's desire to monitor Syrian activities in the light of the messages of goodwill that Damascus has been sending to Washington. Following Ford's appointment, there is little doubt that Syria will now be more closely scrutinised than ever over its role in Iraq and Lebanon.
