Comrad Pelosi in Syria talks

#1
OrangeEmpire

OrangeEmpire

The White Debonair
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Nov 28, 2005
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#1
The US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says Syria's President Bashar al-Assad has assured her in talks that he is ready to resume peace talks with Israel.

In Damascus, Ms Pelosi also said she gave Mr Assad a similar message from Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
She also voiced concerns over Syria's alleged connections to Hamas and stressed Damascus' role in peace talks between the Palestinians and Israel.
Her visit angered President Bush, who said it undermined US foreign policy.
Mr Bush has said Ms Pelosi's trip to Syria sent "mixed signals" that undermined US-led efforts to isolate the Syrian president.
Assad 'ready' Speaking in Damascus after the talks, Ms Pelosi praised Mr Assad's attitude towards Israel.
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Thoughts?
 
#3
#3
What i want to know is what the devil is she even doing there. She's the freaking speaker of the house. I never heard about old Newt or any republican Speakers going to foreign countries we didnt like too much. Weird if you ask me...
 
#4
#4
Yep.... Nancy Pelosi... the answer to all our foriegn policy problems. I mean I'm almost certain that the Syrian Government took 1 look at her in her $600.00 pumps and her $300.00 silk scarf and starting shaking in their shoes and telling each other, man; we had better get our sh^t together.
 
#5
#5
This seems to be definitely 1 issue where I think the majority of both parties agree, she did an end run. It seems Ms Pelosi needs to be called to the oval office for a ''Who the hell do you think you are'' speech.
 
#6
#6
I'd love to be a fly on the wall during that speech...it'd be nice to see ol' bushy get pissed...been so long since we've seen him do anything but be docile in mho.
 
#8
#8
She also said that Israel would have peace talks, and then Israel came back and said that they never said such things. She def. thinks she runs things. Someone needs to give her a drop kick to the face
 
#9
#9
i concur. I'm still trying to figure out why the speaker of the house is playing secretary of state....and where the hell is condee? she die or something while i wasnt looking!
 
#12
#12
Technically it's not, but Ambrose Burnside decided to enact a law tearing away first amendment rights from war opposers, this law was what ultimately landed Vallandingham in jail
 
#13
#13
emainvol said:
Technically it's not, but Ambrose Burnside decided to enact a law tearing away first amendment rights from war opposers, this law was what ultimately landed Vallandingham in jail
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Pretty much the only thing Burnside is famous for is having his name used as a marina location at Lake Cumberland, Kentucky.

:good!:
 
#14
#14
OrangeEmpire said:
Pretty much the only thing Burnside is famous for is having his name used as a marina location at Lake Cumberland, Kentucky.

:good!:
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you are the civil war buff here, was my assessment fairly accurate? that is the way i always understood it.
 
#17
#17
emainvol said:
i was just curious as to whether your thoughts on the Clement Vallandingham arrest were the same as mine.
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I was actually giving it a lot of thought.

Lincoln had numerous people thrown into jail during the war for various reasons.

Vallandigham was a copperhead of an anti-war, pro- Confederate Democrats.

He strongly opposed every military bill, leading his opponents to allege that he wanted the Confederacy to win the war. He was the acknowledged leader of the Copperheadds and in May 1862 coined their slogan, "To maintain the Constitution as it is, and to restore the Union as it was."

He voiced is opinion on the war and if we are truly a nation of free people, then no, I do not agree with how the Lincoln administration handled matters toward Vallandigham.

Good stuff!
 
#20
#20
Back on topic here....why is it that Pelosi is ridiculed, called a traitor, liar, etc. but no one mentions the fact that there were three GOP Congressmen in her delegation who "defied the White House" as well and would be technically just as complacent in this whole trip? Anyone?
 
#21
#21
CSpindizzy said:
Back on topic here....why is it that Pelosi is ridiculed, called a traitor, liar, etc. but no one mentions the fact that there were three GOP Congressmen in her delegation who "defied the White House" as well and would be technically just as complacent in this whole trip? Anyone?
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It depends on the actions of the Congressional members in question.

Fact finding trips are different than direct negotiations with foreign leaders. To the extent that Ms. Pelosi is engaging in such talks (and botching them in the case of her message from the Israelis) without the consent and coordination of the WH, she is undermining foreign policy.

I believe Hastert did something similar with Columbia. He was wrong to do so as is Ms. Pelosi in this case. If the Republican members are also meeting with Olmert and Assad for direct talks - that are contradictory to the policies of the Admin - then they too should be criticized. So far, I haven't seen such participation by the Rep. parties to the delegation.
 
#22
#22
Some of Pelosi's deft foreign policy work.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/04/AR2007040402306_pf.html

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. "What was communicated to the U.S. House Speaker does not contain any change in the policies of Israel," said a statement quickly issued by the prime minister's office. In fact, Mr. Olmert told Ms. Pelosi that "a number of Senate and House members who recently visited Damascus received the impression that despite the declarations of Bashar Assad, there is no change in the position of his country regarding a possible peace process with Israel." 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.
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#23
#23
dan4vols said:
This seems to be definitely 1 issue where I think the majority of both parties agree, she did an end run. It seems Ms Pelosi needs to be called to the oval office for a ''Who the hell do you think you are'' speech.
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Perhaps you've forgotten who is the boss between the president and congress?
 
#25
#25
Again, go back and read Bush and Cheney's statements. All of them harp on the fact that this trip should not have taken place. Even the GOP members were told not to go. So again I will ask why there is no outcry against them. Fact is the group went as a whole to a nation that our policy is "one voice" and one controlled because of Syria's own actions. So frankly it does not matter if those three did every move that Pelosi did when the arguments against her going focus on her actually going in the first place.

Keep in mind that trips to these nations take approval by Executive Branch agencies. So this was a known event and an approved event. But yet after approval, this same branch has a problem with this.

As for the statement from Israel that is in question, just because Olmert says it didn't happen does not mean it did not. People have been quick to say "see Pelosi is a liar". Statements like this are passed constantly. typically they are kept under the radar since it is under the table discussions between nations not supposed to be speaking to each other. Odds are some rookie staffer leaked the info as an attempt to plug the mission and the supposed good it would do. Olmert can deny but fact is something was passed and it appears to at least gotten some movement.

The Executive is the 'decider' but when the Constitution gives treaty approval to the Senate, that alone says the founders gave some foreign policy power to Congress. The body of the people do have a voice in what happens with their nation. The foreign policy issue is primarily an Executive power because of it having a singular voice to negotiate and maneuver. It does not mean Congress cannot do such as it has for decades and actually since the founding.
 
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