Nancy Pelosi Defies Bush, Has 'Great Hope' for Syria
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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Monday shrugged off White House criticism of her upcoming trip to Damascus, saying she had "great hope" for reviving U.S. relations with Syria and changing its behavior.
Speaking hours after arriving in Lebanon, Pelosi indicated the Bush administration was singling out her trip to Syria, but ignoring the recent visits by Republican members of Congress.
"It's interesting because three of our colleagues, who are all Republicans, were in Syria yesterday and I didn't hear the White House speaking out about that," Pelosi said, referring to the Sunday meeting of Reps. Frank Wolf, Joe Pitts and Robert Aderholt with Syrian President Bashar Assad in Damascus.
"I think that it was an excellent idea for them to go," said Pelosi, who is to meet Syrian leaders Wednesday. "And I think it's an excellent idea for us to go, as well."
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The United States has poor relations with Syria, accusing it of interfering in Iraq and Lebanon and sponsoring terrorists - charges that Damascus denies. A White House spokeswoman has described Pelosi's visit to Syria as a "really bad idea."
Last year, the bipartisan Iraq Study Group recommended the U.S. launch a diplomatic initiative with Syria, but the Bush administration has rejected this.
"We think it's a good idea to establish the facts, to hopefully build the confidence between us," said Pelosi. "We have no illusions, but we have great hope."
In Damascus, a state-run newspaper welcomed Pelosi's visit, saying that through dialogue "a lot of misunderstandings (with the United States) could be removed."
Pelosi, who is leading a congressional delegation on a fact-finding tour of the Middle East, said she would speak to the Syrians about Iraq, their role in the fight against terrorism, their support for militant groups such as Lebanon's Hezbollah and the Palestinian Hamas - whose exiled leaders live in Damascus - as well their influence in Lebanon.
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