Pelosi meets with Syrian President Assad(Nancy's little adventure)

AP ^ | 04/04/07 | ZEINA KARAM

[TigerLikesRooster]

Pelosi meets with Syrian President Assad

By ZEINA KARAM, Associated Press Writer

9 minutes ago

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (news, bio, voting record) met Syrian President Bashar Assad Wednesday for talks criticized by the White House as undermining American efforts to isolate the hard-line Arab country.

The California Democrat and accompanying members of Congress began their day by holding separate talks with Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem and Vice President Farouk al-Sharaa and then met Assad, who hosted them for lunch after their talks.

Pelosi's visit to Syria was the latest challenge to the White House by congressional Democrats, who are taking a more assertive role in influencing policy in the Middle East and the Iraq war.

Bush has said Pelosi's trip signals that the Assad government is part of the international mainstream when it is not. The United States says Syria allows Iraqi Sunni insurgents to operate from its territory, backs the Hezbollah and Hamas militant groups and is trying to destabilize the Lebanese government. Syria denies the allegations.

"A lot of people have gone to see President Assad ... and yet we haven't seen action. He hasn't responded," he told reporters soon after she arrived in Damascus Tuesday. "Sending delegations doesn't work. It's simply been counterproductive."

Pelosi did not comment on Bush's remarks but went for a stroll in the Old City district of Damascus, where she mingled with Syrians in a market.

Wearing a flowered head scarf and a black abaya robe, Pelosi visited the 8th-century Omayyad Mosque. She made the sign of the cross in front of an elaborate tomb which is said to contain the head of John the Baptist. About 10 percent of Syria's 18 million people are Christian.

At the nearby outdoor Bazouriyeh market, Syrians crowded around, offering her dried figs and nuts and chatting with her. She bought some coconut sweets and looked at jewelry and carpets.

On Tuesday night, Pelosi met Syrian human rights activists, businessmen and religious leaders at the U.S. ambassador's residence.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem was quoted Wednesday as saying that Pelosi and other members of Congress were "welcome" in Syria.

"Better late than never," he told the Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Anba in an interview. He said the visits were taking place because Americans and Europeans had realized that their policy of trying to isolate Syria had failed.

However, the Syrian ambassador to Washington, Imad Moustapha, was quoted as saying Syria was "wary of the sudden U.S. openness" and would respond cautiously.

"Syria will not hurriedly offer concessions when it refused to offer them under much greater pressure from the United States in the past," he said in an interview with the Al-Baath newspaper, the mouthpiece of the ruling party.

"Syria will take a step forward every time the Americans take one," he added.

Democrats have argued that the U.S. should engage its top rivals in the Mideast — Iran and Syria — to make headway in easing crises in Iraq, Lebanon and the Israeli-Arab peace process. Last year, the bipartisan Iraq Study Group recommended talks with the two countries.

Bush rejected the recommendations. But in February, the U.S. joined a gathering of regional diplomats in Baghdad that included Iran and Syria for talks on Iraq.

Visiting neighboring Lebanon on Monday, Pelosi shrugged off White House criticism of her trip to Syria, noting that Republican lawmakers met Assad on Sunday without comment from the Bush administration.

She said she hoped to rebuild lost confidence between Washington and Damascus and would tell Syrian leaders that Israel will talk peace with them only if Syria stops supporting Palestinian militants. She said she also would raise Syria's roles in Iraq and Lebanon and their support for the Hezbollah militant group.

"We have no illusions but we have great hope," said Pelosi, who met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank city of Ramallah earlier Tuesday.

Relations between the U.S. and Syria reached a low point in early 2005 when Washington withdrew its ambassador to Damascus to protest the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Many Lebanese blamed Syria — which had troops in Lebanon at the time — for the assassination. Damascus denied involvement.

Washington has since succeeded in largely isolating Damascus, with its European and Arab allies shunning Assad. The last high-ranking U.S. official to visit Syria was then-Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage in January 2005.

The isolation, however, has begun to crumble in recent months, with visits by U.S. lawmakers and some European officials.

[TigerLikesRooster]

Syrian President Bashar Assad meets on Wednesday, April 4, 2007 with U.S. House speaker Nancy Pelosi at Ash-Shaeb presidential palace in Damascus. Pelosi arrived here Tuesday as the highest ranking US official to visit Syria since 2003 for talks with the Syrian leadership on the strained relations between Syria and the U.S., to convey a peace message from Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to President Assad, and to discuss Iraq and other regional issues with Syria. Pelosi's visit was criticized by the US administration.(AP Photo Hussein Malla).

[TigerLikesRooster]

Re #1

It seems that Nancy is pulling Hanoi Jane. I did not know that Nancy has Fonda-envy.

[mainepatsfan]

Now if she were to visit Iran would she wear the burka?

[strange1]

..."Syria will not hurriedly offer concessions when it refused to offer them under much greater pressure from the United States in the past,"

So, in Nancy's world she thinks the Muzzie's will some how listen to her more so than the MALE leader of our country. Right, they have such high respect for women over there...I mean look what Albright did...ah never mind.

[TigerLikesRooster]

Re #3

And pose with soldiers of Revolutionary Guard manning SAM battery. What else do you expect?:-)

[rod1]

Nancy does Bathist

[Thrownatbirth]

Washington has since succeeded in largely isolating Damascus, with its European and Arab allies shunning Assad.

Now Syria and the rest of the Arab media is boasting that the U.S. has failed and is offering a diplomatic olive branch.

Nice work, Nancy. /s

[tkathy]

Nancy “Mrs. Chamberlain” Pelosi (as in Neville) is doing more to harm our military and will get many more of our guys killed.

[mewzilla]

Related link courtesy of the inimitable NYP....

W. KICKS NANCY'S ASSAD SPEAKER A 'COVER' GIRL ON SYRIA SUCK-UP TOUR

[rhombus]

So Syria and Iran are playing good cop/bad cop with us and Nancy is eating it up. She must feel very important. ;-)

[Jimmy Valentine]

Totally inappropriate. No headscarf and bare legs. To an Islamist like Assad Pelosi looks like an old whore.

Come to think of it that is how she looks to me too.

[TigerLikesRooster]

Re #8

On the upside, Dems are overreaching now. Politically speaking, they could cause serious self-inflicted wound.

Nancy is a nutcase.

[mainepatsfan]

The picture of her should be in every GOP congressional attack ad next fall. That is if the RNC has any brains left.

[Hardastarboard]

Now if she were to visit Iran would she wear the burka?

Haven't you noticed that she has been photographed wearing a head scarf, in deference to the Muslim culture? I looked at DU this morning to see if they were outraged that this modern, independent American woman was covering her head in tribute to a repressive, male-dominated culture, but I didn't find any sense of outrage there at all. Perhaps the freaks at DU aren't as "progressive" as they think they are.

[Humal]

Did anyone see the plane she was on? It looked like Air Force One, but I don’t know one from the other. Who paid for that plane to go over there, and how many people did she take with her?

[Vaquero]

[mainepatsfan]

Multi culturalism uber alles.

[Past Your Eyes]

Pretty risque with the hem well above the knee there. If she was a little younger, old Bashar might have a woody.

[thepresidentsbestfriend]

This might be breaking news but I will leave it here as it is about Pelosi. Here`s a link to a article about Nancy`s trouble in the middle east and also a suggestion about Harry Reid's health. Sounds serious on both fronts. http://forum.ecoustics.com/bbs/messages/2/343203.html

[tkathy]

On the upside, Dems are overreaching now. Politically speaking, they could cause serious self-inflicted wound.

The republicans should be making political hay over this. It’s driving me nuts.