Posted on 02/10/2009 10:04:51 AM PST by Nachum
They said Hof would be authorized to facilitate an expansion of U.S. relations with Syria, which deteriorated under President George Bush. In 2005, the United States withdrew its ambassador to Damascus in wake of the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Syria was blamed for the car bombing in Beirut in which Hariri and many of his bodyguards were killed.
The sources said Obama sent emissaries to Syria in September 2008 and pledged that if elected he would reconcile with the regime of President Bashar Assad. After his election victory, they said, Obama sent another message that promised to appoint an ambassador within the first weeks of his administration.
Hof, an Arabic speaker and former U.S. Army officer, was said to be close to Obama's new Middle East envoy, George Mitchell. Hof worked with Mitchell when the latter headed a fact-finding commission on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in 2002.
Obama's intention to reconcile with Iran and Syria has been supported by the Democratic majority in Congress. In February, congressional delegations were planning visits to Damascus, including one headed by House Foreign Relations Committee chairman Rep. Howard Berman. Another delegation was scheduled to include members of the Senate Foreign Relations.
A delegation of the House Terrorism, Unconventional Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee, headed by Rep. Adam Smith, has already visited Damascus and met Syrian leaders. The sources said Smith focused his talks on Obama's plans to end sanctions, particularly the Syrian Accountability Act, on the Assad regime.
"Congress wants some sort of commitment that Syria will end support to Hamas and Hizbullah, but this is not expected," a diplomatic source said.
On Feb. 8, the Syrian regime reported a breakthrough in trade relations with the United States. The state-owned Al Baath daily said the United States has agreed to sell spare parts for the repair of two Boeing 747 passenger jets owned by the state-owned Syrian airline.
Syrian Transport Minister Yaroub Bader said Damascus received U.S. approval on Feb. 6. Under U.S. sanctions, Damascus had been denied requests for weapons and aerospace components.
My God....
Lovely
What do you EXPECT when a Muslim is elected as President of the United States?!
OMG is this true?
Every day the list of mayhem from this administration grows. It quickly went from comical to sickening...
The guy in our White House must be the 12th Imam. He is the savior the Muslims have been waiting for.
It's as though he's in a race to bring as much destruction on the United States in the shortest time possible.
Hooray, hooray! The Bush doctrine is dead, and sweet reason returns to international relations. The Syrians are sure to respond positively and in kind.
(Do I HAVE to put on the /sarcasm tag?)
Remember John mcCain’s chilling words at the end of the campaign?
“YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE AFRAID OF AN OBAMA PRESIDENCY !!!”
Israel hasn’t - which makes me wonder how any further action against Syria will go down - will we be fur ‘em or agin’ em?
I don't think there are any doubts left.
The only question that remains is whether he's also the anti-christ.
On that one, the jury is still deliberating.
"The Logan Act (18 U.S.C.A. § 953 [1948]) is a single federal statute
making it a crime for a citizen to confer with foreign governments against
the interests of the United States. Specifically, it prohibits non-Democratscitizens from negotiating with other nations on behalf of the United States
without authorization."
yea, as rev Wright says "God d-mn America"
First president not to attend The Inaugural Medal of Honor Ball
Many exectutive orders the first week in office. Including
* -allowing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians with ties to Hamas to resettle in the United States.
* - Scrapping the Mexico City Policy that protected taxpayers from involvement in overseas abortions for eight years. Obama will send hundreds of millions of dollars to groups that aggressively promote abortions on a worldwide scale.
Obama issued Executive Order "Use of Project Labor Agreements for Federal Construction Projects", revoking Bush Executive Orders 13202 and 13208. The new order encourages federal executives to require government contractors and subcontractors to use union-organized labor.
Obama issues Executive Order "Amendments to Executive Order 13199 Establishment of the President's Advisory Council for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.". Neighborhood partnerships" have equal footing with faith-based ones. The local Planned Parenthood or ACORN center will be treated like a house of God, in the eyes of the federal government.
First official phone call to Abbas
Insults China
First interview, with foreign news outlet- for Muslims
Talks about his muslim family
Picks fight with Limbaugh
Won't take question from press
Allows to FDA approve first human embryonic stem cell safety trial (3 days after Pres. Bush left)
Excludes any compromise with GOP on Stimulus bill Massive pork in stimulus bill
5% of stimulus bill to actually go to infrastructure
Offers to negotiate directly with Iran
Puts 5 millionairs on his cabinet
Makes a tax cheat the Sec. of the Treasury
Bombs Pakistan
Argues with the Pope on abortion
Signed the SCHIP bill, that gives health care to illegals
Won't allow a video of his retaking of the oath of office
Ordered the closure of Gitmo
Halts all pending Bush regulations
Second week:
Appoints extremist Samantha Powers to head foreign policy team
Secret nuke talks with Iran/Syria
Appoints tax cheat for commerce secretary
Illegal alien aunt, granted a "stay" of deportation Daschle the tax cheat/lobbiest proposed as secretary for health care
Nancy Killefer for candidacy to be the first chief performance officer for federal government fails to pay household help taxes ...withdrawn
Obama brings the U.S. Census Bureau under White House jurisdiction under protest from Republican lawmakers
12 lobbyists (or more) appointed to high gov't positions within the first 14 days of his administration (up to 17 by another source)
Administration demands defense cuts of 10% during wartime
Obama envoy George Mitchell tells Palistinians " they believe can extract from Israel concessions reaching "much further" than during talks held under the previous administration
The European Union warns the US yesterday against plunging the world into depression by adopting Obama's Buy American policy, intensifying fears of a trade war Obama immediately backs down from policy
After stating her priority would be "mum-in-chief", Michelle Obama goes on listening tour and then makes political speeches with her husband not yet one month in office...
George Mitchell resigns from a Saudi Lobbying firm, two weeks into his appointment as "Special Middle East Envoy"
Obama administration says it will cancel 77 drilling leases near Utah parks
Ogden, President Obama's pick for deputy attorney general, used to represent Playboy
Steven Chu, Obama's secretary of energy (not a climatologist) states: California's farms and vineyards could vanish by the end of the century, and its major cities could be in jeopardy, if Americans do not act to slow the advance of global warming
Obama names most fined Washington State bureaucrat Ron Simms to the #2 position in HUD
Hilda Solis, Obama's pick for labor secretary's husband is found to be a tax cheat just before the confirmation vote
Directed military prosecutors to revoked charges pending against mastermind of USS Cole bombing: Al Nashiri
Adding insult to injury: speaks to families of USS Cole dead, after decision to free Al Nashiri- not before
Third week in office
Obama changes the setup of the National Security Councel by executive order
Shauna Daly, professional dirt digger hired as White House councel research director
White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel got free housing from House rep (D) Rosa DeLauro for 5 years . DeLauro is married to Stan Greenberg; a pollster (Quinlin Rosner Research) with lucrative contracts from both that representatives.
A Syrian paper reported that the Obama U.S. Dept. of Commerce agreed to sell plane parts to Syria
A lawyer for the Obama administration surprised a panel of federal appeals judges by making an argument to preserve state secrets in a trial regarding terrorism subjects. This argument was made, after repeatedly attacking the Bush administration for doing the same thing.
President Obama said Monday that "only government" can shake the country out of recession, as he tried to settle doubts about his administration's costly economic recovery package during a prime-time press conference.
Obama reverses Bush policy on 'warming' Federal agencies settle long-standing case in favor of environmentalists. The U.S. will now refuse to help finance development overseas if the environmental establishment claims that it would contribute to 'global warming
‘...The sources said Obama sent emissaries to Syria in September 2008 and pledged that if elected he would reconcile with the regime of President Bashar Assad. After his election victory, they said, Obama sent another message that promised to appoint an ambassador within the first weeks of his administration...’
Who knew a Senator had emissaries? I just wonder what sort of people they were?
Isn’t it ironic that after years of America being lambasted for supporting Israel, Americans may now wind up being beholden to Israel for their first line of defense? Pray for Netanyahu to win the election!
Well, if Jesse Jackson and Jimmuh Carter could conduct foreign policy without being in government...
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