Syria has been listed by the State Department as among the State Sponsors of Terrorism since
December 29, 1979 (http://www.state.gov/s/ct/c14151.htm - broken link). Is Obama going to remove that designation? On what grounds?
NICOSIA — President Barack Obama has decided on a new U.S. ambassador to Syria and
is expected to lift sanctions against a nation charged with aiding Al Qaida in Iraq and secretly building a nuclear reactor with North Korean assistance.
Diplomatic sources said Obama, in consultation with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, has asked Frederic Hof to become the first U.S. ambassador to Damascus since 2005.
The sources said Hof, a member of the National Advisory Committee of the Middle East Policy Council, agreed to take the post.
“There will be an announcement very soon,” a diplomat said.
The sources said Obama sent emissaries to Syria in September 2008 and pledged that if elected he would reconcile with the regime of President Bashar Assad.
After his election victory, they said, Obama sent another message that promised to appoint an ambassador within the first weeks of his administration.
"Congress wants some sort of commitment that Syria will end support to Hamas and Hizbullah, but this is not expected," a diplomatic source said.
Obama preparing to lift sanctions against Syria