The Obama administration announced yesterday that the president will appoint a U.S. Ambassador to Syria. The U.S. has not had an official presence in Damascus since the Bush administration yanked its ambassador in 2005 after the assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. The move appears to show how much Obama wants Syria’s cooperation on a host of issues from Iran to Iraq to a Mideast peace deal. The Takeaway talks to Andrew Tabler, a Syria expert with the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.