Helen Thomas: Pelosi’s ‘Mixed Message’ to Syria Is More Direct Than The President’s

[babylonsister]

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/04/13/507/

Pelosi’s ‘Mixed Message’ to Syria Is More Direct Than The President’s
by Helen Thomas

Washington — Vice President Dick Cheney has accused House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of “bad behavior” for visiting Damascus and talking to Syrian President Bashar Assad.Look who’s talking — the man who told the world he knew where the weapons of mass destruction were in Iraq in the run-up to the U.S. invasion. Have you heard any apologies or mea culpas from Cheney even after he was proved wrong? Of course not.

And did you hear anything from Cheney repudiating the visits to Syria by Republican U.S. Rep. Frank Wolf of Virginia and Joe Pitts of Pennsylvania? Another recent Republican visitor was Rep. Darrel Issa of California. Silence from the veep. That’s because the Bush administration needs every vote it can muster on Capitol Hill to support its disastrous foreign policy.

President Bush accused Pelosi of sending “mixed messages” to Syria. Hardly. Syrian officials are well aware of the constant U.S. trashing of their country as a “terrorist state.”

Syria just happens to be sheltering thousands of Iraqi refugees who fled their country as a result of the U.S. invasion and the ensuing civil war. The U.S. has taken in only a few thousand fleeing Iraqis.

Speaking of his trip to Syria, Wolf said: “I don’t care what the administration says on this. You gotta do what you think is in the best interest of your country.”

On his return from Syria, Pitts said: “Dialogue is not a sign of weakness … . It’s a sign of strength.”

Even Issa — a strong Bush supporter who met with Assad — was critical of the administration’s pressure against any contacts with Syria.

more...