US expected to name former Cheney aide as Syria envoy

Laura Rozen

WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 17: L to R, Michael Rubin, resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, Michael Doran, senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, and John Hannah, senior counselor at Foundation for Defense of Democracies, testify during a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing titled "White House Narratives on the Iran Nuclear Deal," on Capitol Hill, May 17, 2016, in Washington, DC. Ben Rhodes, White House Deputy National Security Adviser for Strategic Communication, has been und — John Hannah (R), senior counselor at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, testifies during a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing titled "White House Narratives on the Iran Nuclear Deal" on May 17, 2016, in Washington. — GETTY/Drew Angerer

WASHINGTON — The Donald Trump administration is expected to name John Hannah as the next US Syria envoy, as it seeks to reinvigorate the UN-led Geneva negotiations and advance a political resolution to the Syrian conflict, multiple Syria experts and a US official told Al-Monitor.

Hannah, who served as the top national security adviser to Vice President Dick Cheney, currently is a senior counselor to the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD). Before serving as Cheney’s deputy national security adviser for the Middle East (2001-2004) and then national security adviser (2005-2009), Hannah was a senior State Department official in both the Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush administrations, serving on the policy planning staff under veteran Middle East peace negotiator Dennis Ross. Hannah did not respond to an emailed query from Al-Monitor.

A US official speaking not for attribution said the appointment was expected but that its exact timing was unknown.

The Trump administration has been consulting with like-minded countries to discuss mechanisms for trying to reinvigorate the Syria negotiations led by UN Special Envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura.

US expected to name former Cheney aide as Syria envoy

The Trump administration is expected to name John Hannah the next US Syria envoy.

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