Australia's Embassy in Syria's capital of Damascus was closed in 1999 under the Howard Government. In order to explore the possibility of reopening the Embassy, there needs to be a clear understanding of Australian foreign policy and also of Syria's value to Australia. Decisions in Australian foreign policy are made by the Prime Minister. He is influenced however, to varying degrees, by Parliament, the media, lobby groups, industry, non-governmental organisations and the general public. The more economic and political power these groups possess, the more likely they are to influence foreign policy. Foreign policy priorities are quite vulnerable to changes in government and context. Just as foreign policies have transformed over time, over the next few years the Rudd government will develop a new foreign policy. The current policy priorities have been depicted by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Foreign Minister Stephen Smith as constituting three pillars. The first pillar is Australia's alliance with the United States. The second pillar is Australia's membership of the United Nations. Finally, the third pillar is regional engagement in the Asia-Pacific. Syria occupies an interesting political position in relation to its region and to key powers such as the United States and Europe. Events of the recent past have resulted in Syria representing the Middle East as a state with a clear alliance with Iran...