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.

[VA40]

I wonder how much money she’s raised for ‘08 so far on this trip?

[Dallas59]

I wonder how hard Bashar Assad laughed when that American fool left?

[rj45mis]

How long will one wait to take back one’s country? These people need to be stopped, even if it takes extreme measures to do it. Thes ratholes do not represent me and my family and I will fight them to the death if need be.

[gotribe]

On the face of it, I don’t see a problem, assuming she and Bush huddled prior to the trip. Good cop, bad cop.

[Coldwater Creek]

Granny Nanny has been deluded into thinking that she is the most powerful woman in the World. Wonder when the Hildabeast is going to slam her down?

[Joe Boucher]

Pelousy is little more then a tool of our enemy.

[Coldwater Creek]

Exactly!

[mewzilla]

Pelousy is little more then a tool of our enemy.

In the tradition of Tokyo Rose, Axis Sally, and Hanoi Jane.

[Chi-townChief]

Assad looks a little light in that pic.

[Rockpile]

" And pose with soldiers of Revolutionary Guard manning SAM battery"

********************************

Remember, that's "elite Revolutionary Guards". No doubt the photo op will be in a "Holy City".

[Rockpile]

Maybe this excursion is a recruiting trip. Perhaps Nancy is looking for even cheaper labor for her vineyard, hotel and restaurant businesses. And while she’s in Syria she can hit Assad up for campaign contributions.

[LibLieSlayer]

peloser=T R A I T O R ! ! !

LLS

[RSmithOpt]

I am wondering exactly what the nut’s intentions are. First of all, no Muslim respects a woman in the position such as Nancy’s. Second, unless there is subverted intentions on the behalf of the current Administration, i.e. known location of WMD’s from Iraq in Syria coupled with pending removal of Iran’s nuke facility, then what she is doing is a slap in the face to this country, her own government she is suppose to represent, and all military service personnel. If she is grandstanding on behalf of her ultra-Left constituency, then the woman’s plane needs to ‘disappear’ on the flight back to the US.

[philman_36]

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi enters inside the historic Ommayad Mosque during her tour of downtown Damascus, Syria.

You kowtowing skank! Here she is, the Speaker of the House and instead of standing strong (the Feminazis should be ticked as well but will remain silent, as usual) she panders and covers her head like some punked bitch!
Hey, Fancy Nancy, you pandering piece of fecal matter, if you aren't a member of the Islam faith you can tell 'em to stuff their scarves where the sun don't shine!
But no, not you. Oh no, that wouldn't be politic while you're grovelling, would it!

[R.W.Ratikal]

Watch Nancy’s bank account swell. Since when was it decided that the Speaker of the House of Representatives is free to conduct foreign policy?

Pelosi will, of course, come away with some quo pro quo that she hopes will benefit the Democrats no matter what it costs her country.

One wonders if ordinary people who vote Democrat ever read the news, or understand what they read.

[IPWGOP]

[philman_36]

The last line in that article...
He added, emphatically: "She views the world through a different perspective than Bush. She's more open-minded."

Yeah, so open minded because she has no mind and blindly follows when she's told..."You must cover your head."

[SMARTY]

Before it’s over, will we ever see one of those murdering ba^%$#ds filmed in a Christian church to court world opinion?

[proud American in Canada]

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

BTTT! And the pic yesterday, of her in a headscarf, in a mosque.

[bray]

Always on the side of America’s enemies makes you an enemy.

Pray for W and Our Troops