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Source: http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/templateC06.php?CID=1035
Why Does Syria Need Two Ambassadors in Washington?
[Weekly Standard/Washington Institute for Near East Policy] David Schenker - Syria maintains not one but two ambassadors to Washington. Officially, Syrian president Bashar Assad's top diplomat in the U.S. is Ambassador Imad Moustapha. Assad's second, unofficial - but reliably pro-Syria - envoy is Lebanon's ambassador to Washington, Farid Abboud. Abboud, who has been in Washington for eight years, was appointed by the pro-Syria Lebanese president Emile Lahoud. As a matter of policy, the administration has treated Abboud as a Syrian official and has studiously avoided contact. The absence of a Lebanese ambassador to Washington who is accountable to his own government reflects the ongoing Syrian influence in Lebanon. The writer is a senior fellow at the Washington Institute.