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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi took it upon herself to engage in
diplomatic talks with Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad last week without
the backing of the State Department. According to the Constitution,
diplomacy with heads of state is a function given solely to the executive
branch of the federal government. Other foreign relations functions are
the domain of the legislative branch, such as approving treaties, but they
are granted only to the Senate. Though the Speaker insisted she was just
on a fact finding trip, her position in our government and the fact that
she was meeting with a foreign head of state certainly would imply it was
a much more significant mission.
Syria is identified by the
State Department as a state sponsor of terrorism because it openly hosts
terror organizations such as Islamic Jihad and Hamas. Additionally, Syria
has a military alliance with another state sponsor of terrorism, Iran, and
has been linked to the insurgency in Iraq that has resulted in the
deaths of numerous American servicemen and women. 1
Because of Syria's ties to terrorist groups, the United States has chosen
to diplomatically isolate it from rest of the world. Vice President
Dick Cheney said in a recent interview that Assad has been “isolated and
cut off because of his bad behavior". 2
Because of the
Speaker's visit, that barrier was broken down and Assad’s regime was
given an undeserved legitimacy. Marwan
al-Kabalan, professor of
political science and media at Damascus University, was reported by the
New York Times as saying that Pelosi’s visit helped “give the
impression that Syria is no longer isolated in the world … So now, you
can’t ask the Europeans or others not to visit the Syrians like you used
to before." 3
The Reform Party of Syria echoed those words, as reported by
WorldNetDaily:
Five
years of investment by the U.S. State Department and the Bush
administration in organizations and people who have committed their
lives to helping their oppressed countries is being flushed away by the
Democrats in Congress who, with the visit of Pelosi to Syria, have shown
that they favor the stability of dictatorships to freedom even if they
had a direct hand in killing American troops in Iraq. 4
Speaker
Pelosi said that she went to Syria with “friendship” and “hope”
and stated during her meeting with Assad that “the road to Damascus is
the road to peace.” 5
She also stated that Israel was ready to resume peace negotiations – an
assertion that surprised Jerusalem and resulted in a quick denial by
Israeli officials. 6
Nations that support terrorism don’t deserve friendship and they are not
the “road to peace”. Nations that support terrorism are not to be
dialogued with, they are to be opposed. Syria should be required to
renounce its links to terrorism and stop meddling in Iraq before it is
accepted back into the community of nations. Until that happens it should
absolutely remain an outcast.
The most disturbing result of
Pelosi’s trip was the reaction from terror groups. Khaled al-Batch,
spokesman for Islamic Jihad, had nothing but glowing praise for the
Speaker’s efforts in Syria, expressing hope that she will continue to
win elections and will “pressure Bush to create dialogue with Syria and
Middle East ‘resistance movements’ and prompt an American withdrawal
from Iraq.” Let it be noted that Islamic Jihad, along with Al Aqsa
Martyrs Brigade, has taken credit for just about every suicide bombing
attack in Israel over the past two years. Abu
Abdullah, a leader of the terrorist group Hamas, said “the willingness
by some lawmakers to talk with Syria ‘is proof of the importance of the
resistance against the U.S.’" 7
Wow, it must feel great to the Democrats that they have such upstanding
advocates for their cause. Democrats like Pelosi are doing exactly what
the terrorists want them to do: push to get out of Iraq and open dialog
with terror regimes like Syria. The Democrats are openly
supported and endorsed by terrorists.
Many, including the author, believe that Pelosi’s trip was motivated
more by partisan politics then any real concern for the situation in the
Middle East. Democrats have at every turn attempted to embarrass and
undermine the Bush administration and utilize the Middle East as a tool
for political gain. Jihad Yaziji, editor in chief of The Syria Report, said
“there was a feeling that [Pelosi’s] visit had more to do with
domestic politics than us.” Though Pelosi insisted (incredibly) that her
visit did not represent a departure from previous U.S. foreign policy,
Yaziji further reasoned: “If she isn’t going to be very different from
Bush, then why did she come?” 8
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