Pelosi Tours Syria, Rebuffs Criticism
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi mingled with Syrians in a market and made the sign of the cross at a Christian tomb Tuesday as she began a trip to Syria aimed at opening dialogue with its leader, Bashar Assad.
President George W. Bush criticized the visit, saying it sends mixed signals to Damascus.
Pelosi's visit was a new high-profile challenge to Bush by the majority Democrats in Congress, who are taking a more assertive role in influencing policy in the Middle East and the Iraq war.
The United States accuses Syria of interfering in Lebanon, allowing Iraqi Sunni insurgents to operate from its territory and sponsoring terrorism for its backing of the Hamas and Hezbollah militant groups, charges Syria denies.
The Bush administration has resisted calls to open direct talks with Damascus to convince it to help ease the crisis in Iraq and bring progress in the peace process with Israel.
Soon after Pelosi's arrival in Damascus, Bush denounced the visit.
"A lot of people have gone to see President Assad ... and yet we haven't seen action. He hasn't responded," he told reporters at a Rose Garden news conference. "Sending delegations doesn't work. It's simply been counterproductive."
He said Assad had not reined in Hamas and Hezbollah and has acted to destabilize the democratically elected government of Lebanon.
Pelosi, a California Democrat, made no comment on Bush's remarks, instead heading from the airport to Damascus' historic Old City for a tour to meet Syrians face-to-face. She is to meet Assad on Wednesday.
Draping a flowered scarf over her hair and donning a black abaya robe, Pelosi visited the 8th Century Omayyad Mosque, shaking hands with Syrian women inside and watching men in a religion class sitting cross-legged on the floor.
She stopped at an elaborate tomb inside the mosque said to contain the head of John the Baptist and made the sign of the cross in front of the tomb. About 10 percent of Syria's 18 million people are Christian.
At the nearby outdoor Bazouriyeh market, Syrians crowded around her, offered her dried figs and nuts and chatted with her. She strolled past shops selling olive oil soaps, spices and herbs, and at one point bought some coconut sweets and eyed jewelry and carpets.
The tour sought to highlight the Democrats' stark differences with the Bush administration's policy of shunning Damascus, which they have depicted as a failure.
In other developments:
Democrats have argued that the United States should engage its top rivals in the Mideast, Iran and Syria, in order to make headway in easing crises in Iraq, Lebanon and the Israeli-Arab peace process. Last year, the bipartisan Baker-Hamilton commission recommended talks with the two countries.
Mr. Bush firmly rejected the recommendations. But in February the United States joined a gathering of regional diplomats in Baghdad that included Iran and Syria aimed at dealing with the bloodshed in Iraq.
A day earlier in neighboring Lebanon, Pelosi shrugged off White House criticism of the Syria visit, pointing out that Republican lawmakers met Assad on Sunday without comment from the Bush administration.
"I think that it was an excellent idea for them to go," she said. "And I think it's an excellent idea for us to go as well."
She said she hoped to rebuild lost confidence between Washington and Damascus and will tell Syrian leaders that Israel will talk peace with them only if Syria stops supporting Palestinian militants. She has said she will also talk to the Syrians about Iraq, their role in neighboring Lebanon and their support for Hezbollah.
"We have no illusions but we have great hope," said Pelosi, who earlier Tuesday met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
Relations between Washington and Damascus soured in 2003 over U.S. accusations Syria was assisting foreign fighters to cross its border into Iraq, a charge Syria denies. Relations reached a low point in early 2005 when Washington withdrew its ambassador to protest the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, blamed on Syria by many in Lebanon. Syria has denied involvement.
Since then, Washington has succeeded in largely isolating Damascus, with its European and Arab allies shunning Assad. The last high-ranking U.S. official to come to Syria was then-Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, who visited Damascus in January 2005.
But that isolation has begun to crumble in recent months, with visits by U.S. lawmakers and some European officials.
Syria treated Pelosi's visit as a diplomatic victory. "Welcome Dialogue," proclaimed a front-page headline in one state-run newspaper next to a photo of Pelosi.
Syria's Ambassador to the United States, Imad Moustapha, described the visit as a "positive step" but said "it does not necessarily mean that the U.S. administration would suddenly change its position" from Syria.
In comments to the state-run Al-Thawra daily published Tuesday, he said the visit should be a "reminder that even though we might disagree on politics, we should remain diplomatically engaged in dialogue to reach some understandings."