“Nancy Pelosi's foolish shuttle diplomacy”
in which RedState sets the agenda for the WaPo editorial board
By streiff Posted in Democrats — Comments (13) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
Last evening I posted my take on the Pelosi’s infamous hajj to Damascus. The long and short of it is that she demonstrated that she has the inability to deliver even the simplest of diplomatic messages and in the process beclowned herself and, were such a thing possible, shamed her party.
Much to my surprise this morning, I found the editorial board of the Washington Post had been reading RedState.
Read on.
HOUSE SPEAKER Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) offered an excellent demonstration yesterday of why members of Congress should not attempt to supplant the secretary of state when traveling abroad. After a meeting with Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad in Damascus, Ms. Pelosi announced that she had delivered a message from Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert that "Israel was ready to engage in peace talks" with Syria. What's more, she added, Mr. Assad was ready to "resume the peace process" as well. Having announced this seeming diplomatic breakthrough, Ms. Pelosi suggested that her Kissingerian shuttle diplomacy was just getting started. "We expressed our interest in using our good offices in promoting peace between Israel and Syria," she said.
Only one problem: The Israeli prime minister entrusted Ms. Pelosi with no such message. […] In other words, Ms. Pelosi not only misrepresented Israel's position but was virtually alone in failing to discern that Mr. Assad's words were mere propaganda.
Bingo. Assad has played organ grinder man to Pelosi’s circus monkey on this shameful excursion by the Speaker to Damascus. The how and why she misrepresented Tel Aviv’s position to the Syrians is simple. She went to Damascus with the express intent of showing the world that she could accomplish what no American administration has ever been able to do: make Syria behave as a responsible member of the community of nations. From the Washington Post:
Ms. Pelosi was criticized by President Bush for visiting Damascus at a time when the administration -- rightly or wrongly -- has frozen high-level contacts with Syria. Mr. Bush said that thanks to the speaker's freelancing Mr. Assad was getting mixed messages from the United States. Ms. Pelosi responded by pointing out that Republican congressmen had visited Syria without drawing presidential censure.
Here they take time out to shoot down a line of argumentation our own trolls were floating yesterday.
That's true enough -- but those other congressmen didn't try to introduce a new U.S. diplomatic initiative in the Middle East.
Now back to the subject of the trip:
"We came in friendship, hope, and determined that the road to Damascus is a road to peace," Ms. Pelosi grandly declared.
Never mind that that statement is ludicrous: As any diplomat with knowledge of the region could have told Ms. Pelosi, Mr. Assad is a corrupt thug whose overriding priority at the moment is not peace with Israel but heading off U.N. charges that he orchestrated the murder of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq al-Hariri.
And from here it arrives at the same conclusion that we have been writing about since her trip was announced.
The really striking development here is the attempt by a Democratic congressional leader to substitute her own foreign policy for that of a sitting Republican president. Two weeks ago Ms. Pelosi rammed legislation through the House of Representatives that would strip Mr. Bush of his authority as commander in chief to manage troop movements in Iraq. Now she is attempting to introduce a new Middle East policy that directly conflicts with that of the president. We have found much to criticize in Mr. Bush's military strategy and regional diplomacy. But Ms. Pelosi's attempt to establish a shadow presidency is not only counterproductive, it is foolish.
A shadow presidency. Run by a shadow of a person. How very appropriate.
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“Nancy Pelosi's foolish shuttle diplomacy” 13 Comments (0 topical, 13 editorial, 0 hidden) Post a comment »
What better way to do it than face down on the world stage with a hijab on. You did women proud girl, keep it up. Now back to that ERA.
...is now America's half-cocked diplomatic Blunderbuss.
Very nice.
Seeing as the Honorable Speaker is from San Fran, I wonder if she talked to Assad about banning plastic shopping bags?
have the guts to arrest her for violating the Logan Act. Along with the three Republican dunderheads who also went to Syria. They should have to share a cell with Miss Nancy.
____
Those who live by the sword get shot by those who don't.
If we couldn't put John Kerry in jail for secretly plotting strategy with the leaders of North Vietnam while hostilities were still going on, there's no way we can throw Nancy in jail.
More's the pitty.
Can not or will not? Does anyone in authority ask these questions? What political act would finally cause Art III Section III
of the US Constitution to be utilized? We keep hearing of other laws that would be more applicable but no one seems to look at using any of them.
If she even has the brains to know she's made a fool of herself and sit down and shut up. I bet not.
I meant what I said and I said what I meant. An elephant's faithful 100 percent.
excellent post, Streiff
I meant what I said and I said what I meant. An elephant's faithful 100 percent.
I see that the picture of Pelosi wearing a headscarf resembles this one of first lady Laura Bush, who during a visit to a mosque in the West Bank in 2005:
n/t
______________________________________
The CIA has better politicians than it has spies - Fred Thompson
1. And the most obvious, Laura Bush is not Speaker of the House.
2. Laura Bush is not undermining US diplomacy.
3. This thread is not about Pelosi's dhimmitude. That was yesterday.
oh, a fourth point. We don't allow dipsticks to post here.
"A man can never have too much red wine, too many books, or too much ammunition." -- Rudyard Kipling
Please get your blunderbussing enthusiast out of the Middle East before she makes things any worse.
The Fuzzy Puppy of the VRWC.