LAS VEGAS (AP) — Sen. John Thune says the United States should recall its ambassador from Damascus amid Syria's deadly crackdown.
Thune, a Republican from South Dakota, on Saturday told a meeting of Republican Jews that Damascus did not deserve to have a U.S. representative as Syrian security agents have made sweeping arrests. Syrian President Bashar Assad has tried to end two weeks of pro-democracy demonstrations that are threatening his family's rule.
The Bush administration in 2005 recalled the ambassador to Syria. Last year, Obama used a recess appoint to send career diplomat Robert Ford to Damascus.
Thune earlier this year weighed a White House bid but has said he is no longer interested in a 2012 campaign.
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