Rice Attacks Pelosi For Syria Trip Hours After Meeting With Syrians

[babylonsister]

http://thinkprogress.org/2007/05/04/rice-pelosi-syria/

Rice Attacks Pelosi For Syria Trip Hours After Meeting With Syrians

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice again belittled Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) for traveling to Syria last night, hours after she held high-level talks with Syria’s foreign minister.

In an interview with CNN, Rice attacked Pelosi’s trip as a photo-op. She claimed Pelosi had only gone to Damascus “to have those pictures” and to suggest a relationship “that doesn’t exist with Syria.”

It’s a familiar talking-point: in the midst of this trumped up “controversy,” White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said Pelosi was only traveling to “have a photo opportunity and have tea” with Syria’s prime minister, and President Bush said “photo opportunities and/or meetings” send “mixed messages.”

Watch it at link~

Pelosi’s substantive talks with the Syrians should not be derided and reduced to a photo-op, as she “reinforced the administration’s policies” and drove the same message as Rice did with respect to Iraq — “insisting that government block militants seeking to cross into Iraq and join insurgents there.” Unfortunately, Rice still finds a way to target Pelosi while failing to even mention the five Republicans who have visited Syria in the past year.

[denverbill]

1. Two days ago it was treasonous. Now it was just a photo-op? Make up your fucking tiny minds.n/t

[AndyA]

2. I think Rice would be well advised to shut the hell up, and worry a bit more about

her own affairs.

It would appear Waxman is hot on her trail, and I would imagine is about sick of her resisting his inquiries.

She needs to get her butt back to the states and comply with the subpoena she received, or she might find herself up on contempt of Congress charges!

[bdamomma]

5. let Waxman bring charges against her arrogance a$$

[bdamomma]

6. let Waxman bring charges against her arrogant a$$

[Buzz Clik]

3. The Bush Admin has been a foreign policy disaster.

And Condi Rice is dead center in that mess.

She can attempt damage control by blaming Pelosi, but the reality is clear to everyone paying attention.

[bdamomma]

4. Condi can F off.

[napi21]

7. Hmmm, I wonder if it's because Nancy's visit was more successful

than Condi's?

[babylonsister]

8. That's my thinking, too. nt

[WCGreen]

9. COuld very well be...

[napi21]

10. Condi ALWAYS wants to be the Star, and Nancy got much better

Press than she did.

I listened to part of a interview this AM on the Washington Journal. The gues was some newspaper reporter who had written a bio of Condi. One of the most interessting things he said was that Condi LOVES power, and has worked for that her whole life. She has said she will NEVER apologize for ANYTHING because it's a sign of weakness! I think hearing those two comments and hearing on the news that the leader from Iran was supposed to be seated across from Condi at a dinner last night to give them a chance to "talk", but that guy ducked out the door minutes before Condi arrived, convinced me that at least in the media, Condi's trip didn't seem so successful. On the other hand, the only "bad press" Nancy got after her trip came from the admin.

[WCGreen]

11. Interesting....

[CJ5]

12. Pelosi should not have gone

It is not her place to go unless invited to do by the Executive Branch.

[MissMarple]

14. But it was OK for all the GOP congress men to go, and Gingrich, and Hastert.? Grow up.

What a GOP party line, that was.

[Supersedeas]

15. but GoP Congresscritters have an R behind their name and that means everything to Condiliar

[CJ5]

16. Not correct

Those you mentioned do not visit world leaders that the administration had specifically isolated.

[MissMarple]

18. Oh, yes they did.

And Hastert and Gingrich were quite egregious about it, they countered the administration's policy. This isn't a monarchy or a dictatorship, yet. But we do seem to be heading that way with loyal totalitarians backing this nonsense about Pelosi, but supporting the GOP when they do worse.

[CJ5]

19. Refresh my memory then

because I do not recall when Gingrich or Hastert went abroad to visit a foreign leader while the administration had an isolation policy with them.

[MissMarple]

20. Pelosi's visit was bookended by GOP trips.

She also had a Republican congressman accompany her. They met with Bashir Assad at the same time. Congressman's Issa's trip following hers was not his first, I could be wrong on that, but I believe he has been there before. Google around, Pelosi's trip is not an isolated one.

http://mediamatters.org/items/200704020007

Gingrich spoke about Taiwan against U.S. policy and Hastert went to Columbia and directly countered U.S. policy.
While these two trips may not meet your particular criteria regarding an "isolation" policy, what they did was egregious, in my view. Trips to Syria have not been unheard of, and have not received the same treatment that Pelosi's has. She did not counter the administration's foreign policy. The unusual point about her trip is the reaction from both the White House and the MSM. The current administration's insistence on creating a unitary executive is not conducive to the health of our democracy. It reflects neocon elitism, and some of the very worst of Leo Strauss. This continued tempest in a teapot does not speak well of the maturity of the people in this administration. Maybe Cheney and Abrams will react the same way they did with Wright in the 80's. This isn't good, not even for advancing the interests of the administration, in the long run.

http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2007/04/05/gingrich_china/index.html

http://thinkprogress.org/2007/04/04/hastert-colombia/

[CJ5]

22. Neither of those visits cited were with "isolated" governments

though we all could sit here and split hairs till kingdom come. There is a huge difference between China and Columbia and Syria and I think you both can understand that. That being said, I am of the belief that the Legislative Branch has no business actively visiting leaders of foreign governments unless asked to do so by the Executive Branch. That is true fro which ever party is in charge. Agree?

[MissMarple]

23. The administration sanctioned her trip, as it did the others to Syria.

I believe that implies support. Whether the state department signed off on Gingrich's and Hastart's trips, I don't know. But I doubt they would have agreed to the messages that were delivered. Conveying conflicting messages to a foreign government, with that we are more in agreement, just visiting, no.

Congress does have oversight over the executive branch, denying them any participation in the realm of foreign policy is antithetical to our concept of coequal branches of government. The President doesn't get a pass on this. He is accountable to the other two branches of government, he may not like it, but there it is. Congress has a definite role in overseeing foreign policy. Visits, in and of themselves, do not need to come only from the behest of the executive branch.

[babylonsister]

21. Check these out and get back to us:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=3206278

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=3203529#3204003

[dae]

17. That's crapola! Do you not see GOP leaders mucking up

the works when Clinton was President. Pelosi showed them that some Americans still had functioning brainpans instead of bedpans.
:wtf::puke:

[MissMarple]

13. Rice sounds like a jealous, petulant 12 year old.

The overall lack of maturity these people have absolutely takes one's breath away. Pelosi showed Rice how adults comport themselves, and Rice decompensates into a fit of vitriolic, middle school whining.