ON THE ROAD TO DAMASCUS.

Good news today on the diplomatic front: The United States will be returning an ambassador to Syria after more than four years. It's a step in the right direcetion, and will be seen as an attempt to push back against Iran's dominant role in the region and split apart the Syria-Iran axis -- a role that it was able to assume in part because of the United States' disengagement from Syria during the Bush years. The ambassador in Syria will also play an integral part in negotiations between that country and Israel in search of a peace treaty and normalization of relations, and in convincing the Syrian government to support the new government in Iraq, especially by assisting in effective border control between the two states.

Embassies aren't just important for engaging with other countries; they are also clearing houses for gaining intelligence, as Bruce Reidel observes. On the political front, it will be interesting to see if Senate Republicans try to hold up the future ambassador's confirmation or make a point of using hearings around that nomination to attack the administration's strategy of engagement. Although Iran has really seized center stage in discussing the president's diplomatic outreach in the Middle East, it is the relationship with Syria that has the most promise for early returns on an agressive policy shift.

-- Tim Fernholz