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| White House disapproves
of Pelosi's Syria trip By Chris Good US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) arrived in Israel on Friday and is expected to visit Syria as part of a nine-day goodwill trip to the Middle East. The White House voiced its disapproval with the trip to Syria. Pelosi will address the Israeli Knesset on Sunday, which will make her the highest-ranking American woman ever to address Israel’s parliament. That will be Pelosi’s first speech to a foreign government. Pelosi, who is accompanied by six other members, is also expected to visit Lebanon and Saudi Arabia. Pelosi’s office first would not confirm that the Speaker will travel to Syria, but the office of another member on the trip, Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), issued a release stating the delegation is expected to travel there. Later, Pelosi's office released a statement confirming the trip. “As recommended by the Iraq Study Group, a bipartisan delegation led by Speaker Pelosi intends to discuss a wide range of security issues affecting the United States and the Middle East with representatives of governments in the region, including Syria," Pelosi spokesman Brendan Daly said. The Speaker’s stop in Syria drew criticism Friday from the White House. “This is a country that is a state sponsor of terror, one that is trying to disrupt the Siniora government in Lebanon, and one that is allowing foreign fighters to flow into Iraq from its borders,” White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said. Perino said the White House discourages lawmakers from visiting Syria and questioned the message that Pelosi’s stop would send to U.S. allies. Of Pelosi’s trip, Perino said, “We don’t think it’s a good idea.” The United States pulled its ambassador to Syria after the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri. The White House has repeatedly accused Syria of trying to destabilize the governments of Lebanon and Iraq. Pelosi is accompanied on the trip by Foreign Affairs Chairman Tom Lantos (D-Calif.), Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), Rules Chairwoman Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.), Natural Resources Chairman Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.), Rep. David Hobson (R-Ohio) and Ellison. Ellison, who in November became the first Muslim elected to Congress, has spoken out before about his unique potential to help U.S. diplomacy. “I plan to talk to people in the State Department and
anywhere I can to help try to improve America’s image in the Muslim world,” he
told Fox News earlier this month. “I want to help win friends for our country and to
isolate true enemies.” |
