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03-03-09 U.S. to begin talks with Syria

Signaling a new direction in Middle East diplomacy,the Obama administration will dispatch two senior officials to Syria to begin discussions with the regime of President Bashar al-Assad,Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Tuesday.Noting Syria's influence throughout the region,as well as the troubled history between Syria and the United States,Clinton said,"It is a worthwhile effort to go and begin preliminary conversations."The officials,from the White House and the State Department,will follow recent visits by lawmakers,including the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee,John Kerry.Their mission suggests that the administration is pushing for a broader approach to peace negotiations."We don't engage in discussions for the sake of having conversations," Clinton said,after a meeting with the Israeli foreign minister, Tzipi Livni."There has to be a purpose to them,there has to be some benefit accruing to the United State and our allies."The officials are Daniel Shapiro,who oversees Middle East issues at the National Security Council,and Jeffrey Feltman,the acting assistant secretary of state for Near East affairs.Feltman is a former ambassador to Lebanon,while Shapiro advised the Obama campaign on the region