U.S. debates envoy to Syria

WASHINGTON, March 16 (UPI) -- Appointing a U.S. envoy to Damascus is a delicate issue, though declining is rarely in the best interest of U.S. policy, lawmakers said Tuesday in Washington.

U.S. lawmakers had a confirmation hearing for the appointment of diplomat Robert Ford as the next U.S. ambassador to Damascus.

U.S. President Barack Obama appointed Ford, the deputy chief of mission in Iraq, in February. He would become the first U.S. envoy to Damascus since U.S. President George W. Bush broke ties with Syria in 2005.

U.S. Sen. Dick Lugar, R-Ind., the ranking member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, said in his opening statement that the issue before the committee was about more than the nomination of Ford.

Syria, Lugar noted, has been on the list of state sponsors of terrorism for more than 30 years. Its ties to Hamas and Hezbollah, meanwhile, are problematic, and Damascus continues to undercut U.S. efforts in Iraq.

"Despite recent U.S. overtures, relations with Damascus remain deeply strained," said Lugar.

The Indiana senator said lawmakers "should temper expectations" about diplomatic endeavors with Damascus in the short term.

Republican opponents of the measure said in a March 5 letter to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that while warming up to Damascus was not a bad foreign policy decision, "engagement for engagement's sake is counterproductive."

"Nevertheless, declining to post ambassadors to countries, though sometimes necessary, rarely serves U.S. interests for long," said Lugar.