Obama bypasses US Senate to appointment ambassador to Syria

Wed, 29 Dec 2010

Washington - President Barack Obama bypassed the US Senate on Wednesday to appoint the United States' first ambassador to Syria in more than five years.

Obama used a recess appointment to name veteran diplomat Robert Ford to the post in Damascus, which has been vacant since early 2005 in the aftermath of the assassination of Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri.

Ford, who has previously served in the Middle East as the deputy ambassador to Iraq, was first nominated as ambassador to Syria in February. But his appointment was held up in the Senate by a number of Republican senators who oppose re-establishing such high-level diplomatic relations with the government of Syria.

Ford was one of six people that Obama used his executive powers to appoint on Wednesday while the Senate is in holiday recess. Others included James Cole as deputy attorney general for the Justice Department and ambassadors for the Czech Republic, Turkey and Azerbaijan.

Obama's maneuver means the officials will still have to get the Senate's approval by the end of 2011 in order to remain in their positions.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/360097,senate-appointment-ambassador-syria.html.