[antimedia] antimedia: Rather than look at the all-too-predictable reactions....

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Posted by antimedia:
Rather than look at the all-too-predictable reactions....
http://www.antimedia.us/posts/1176062106.shtml


   ....to Nancy Pelosi's visit to Syria within the US, I thought it might
   be interesting to look at [1]reactions to her trip from commenters in
   the middle east.

     Syrian Journalist: Pelosi Has Opened the Door to a Syria-U.S.
     Dialogue
     Pelosi's visit was well received in Syria. While a number of
     delegations of U.S. congressmen had come to Syria in recent months,
     due to her status this visit was understood to be a significant
     development that could initiate a Syria-U.S. dialogue.
     In an interview, Syrian Information Minister Muhsin Bilal told Arab
     television stations that Pelosi's meeting with Assad was "effective
     and positive."
     He added that the visit had "helped to break the barrier that the
     American administration wanted to erect around Syria," and that
     "Pelosi, who represents Congress and the American people, has a
     spirit of dialogue and understanding for issues in the region and
     for Syria's important role in the region."(1)
     Columnist Muhammad 'Ali Boza wrote in the Syrian government daily
     Al-Thawra that Pelosi's visit was "an important turning point in
     American public policy, on the level of the street and public
     opinion, which has begun to act as a pressure on [the government]
     and to understand â even if belatedly â the severity of the damage
     that the official policy of the new Republicans [sic] has causedâ¦
     "There is no doubt that the diplomacy of dialogue and negotiations
     with Syria, and listening to the Syrian position on the burning
     subjects and the numerous issues relating to the region and the
     conflict, are recognition of the importance and centrality of the
     Syrian role, and [recognition] that it is impossible to ignore it
     and leap over it, and that it would be absurd to put forward plans
     or solutions to which Syria does not agree, and which are not in
     keeping with Syria's fundamental national and pan-Arab
     principlesâ¦"(2)
     Egyptian Press: Pelosi Proved that Isolating Syria is Absurd
     The official Egyptian dailies also saw Pelosi's trip to Syria as a
     positive step. Al-Ahram's Arab affairs editor Mas'ud Al-Hanawi
     wrote: "The statements by Pelosi, who ignored the White House's
     criticism of her, were more balanced, sensible, and diplomatic
     [than the White House's approach] when she said that her visit to
     Damascus was a good opportunity to gather facts and build
     confidence⦠What has greater benefit and influence â the isolation
     of the president of a large and influential country like Syria, or
     dialogue with it and getting to know the true Syrian positions from
     the source?..."(3)
     An editorial in the following day's Al-Ahram read: "Pelosi's visit
     is likely to verify the failure of the Bush administration's
     foreign policy in the Middle East, and it may be assumed that the
     visit will cause great embarrassment to U.S. Secretary of State
     Condoleezza Rice, who visited the region three times this year
     without her talks having yielded any concrete resultsâ¦
     "The visit to Damascus has achieved two important things. First,
     the opening of a U.S.-Syria dialogue to understand the situationâ¦
     in the region, [as a step] towards taking affairs [into the hands]
     of both sides, in matters in which the U.S. believes Syria is
     involved, and can settle through peaceful meansâ¦
     "Second, Pelosi's visit to Damascus included the possibility of
     renewing the peace negotiations between Syria and Israel, which
     have been frozen since 2000.
     "It is clear that Pelosi's talks in Damascus attest to the
     absurdity of isolating Syria, in that it is a central player in the
     region."(4)
     Qatari Columnist: "It Is As If Lightning Had Struck the White
     House"
     Qatari columnist Mazen Hammad wrote in the Qatari daily Al-Watan:
     "It is as if lightning had struck the White House. This is how
     House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Damascus could be described.
     This wise woman, who is considered the third most senior American
     [official], is not only bringing her country back to sanity, but is
     also contributing to improving the image of the U.S. in the Arab
     and Muslim world.
     "The talk in the White House of 'mixed signals' sent to Syria by
     the visit is not true. The visit sends one [single] message â a
     message of the American people's challenge to the foreign policy
     adopted by the American administrationâ¦
     "The important message that Nancy Pelosi has sent, not only to the
     Middle East but to the entire world, is that the closed-door policy
     always fails, and that the use of military force and economic
     violence in order to assure political ends that rely on [American]
     hegemony is equivalent to robbery⦠Force that does not open
     political horizons cannot succeed in forcing solutions.
     "Pelosi's visit does not work wonders, but it is a kind of cry that
     emphasizes that dialogue is important in order [to arrive at] an
     agreement, and that the colonialist desire that drives people like
     Bush and Cheney and guides their positions on foreign policy is
     political sadism, arrogant egoism, and hidden racism that derives
     pleasure from humiliating others and hearing their groansâ¦"(5)
     Saudi Daily: The Visit Breaks No New Ground
     An editorial in the Saudi daily Al-Riyadh took a reserved stance on
     Pelosi's visit: "The exaggerated attention to the differences
     between the two American parties is illogical, since at the high
     level, the supreme interests remain, and do not change with a
     change in leadership, or even with a change of the party [in
     power]. House Speaker Pelosi's visit to the region breaks no new
     ground, when she comes to Damascus after a visit to Lebanon and
     Israelâ¦
     "The new visitor needs to understand that delegations that continue
     to come to visit and present some convoluted solutions with
     impossible conditions cause the Arabs to place no trust in any new
     faces, so long as they have not given anything concreteâ¦"(6)
     Editor of Arab Reformist Website: "Shame on Ms. Pelosi!"
     In an article titled "Shame on Ms. Pelosi for Shaking the Hand of
     the Damascus Hangman!" Omran Salman, the Bahraini editor of the
     reformist website Aafaq, wrote that Pelosi had turned her back on
     Syrian reformists and had harmed the cause of democracy in Syria:
     "Of course no observer of Middle Eastern affairs could at all take
     seriously what Pelosi said [about Syria's willingness to renew the
     peace process]. The most [such an observer] could do would be to
     struggle to keep from laughingâ¦
     "What the honorable U.S. congresswoman said has no basis in
     reality. Syria did not say that it would stem the flow of
     terrorists into Iraq. Likewise, it did not say that it would close
     the offices of Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Damascus and expel their
     leaders. If it had wanted to do this, it would have done so years
     ago, in response to American demands and pressuresâ¦"
     Pelosi Delivered a Blow to the Liberal Opposition in Syria and
     Frustrated Reformists' Hopes
     "The only result that Pelosi achieved in visiting Damascus, and in
     sitting down with the Syrian president and shaking his hand, was to
     deliver a blow to the liberal opposition in Syria and frustrate
     reformists' hopes for change. By breaking through the ring of
     isolation [surrounding] Bashar Assad's regime, Syria advanced
     [several] steps towards repression and despotism, and the march of
     reform and democracy fell behind.
     "Is it any secret that the Syrian regime supports terrorism and is
     the prime suspect in being behind the⦠Hariri assassination and
     the assassinations of a number of other Lebanese journalists and
     politicians?
     "Is it any secret that the Syrian regime is one of the most vicious
     of regimes, and one of the most repressive, in the region�
     "Perhaps Pelosi did not know⦠that during her visit to Damascus,
     this regime was specializing in torturing Syrian oppositionists â
     among them Kamal Al-Labwani, the founder of the Liberal Democratic
     Rally in Syriaâ¦
     "What was Kamal Al-Labwani's crime? In October-November 2005,
     Al-Labwani toured Europe and the U.S. to gather support for the
     cause of democracy in Syria. In the U.S., Al-Labwani met with
     members of the U.S. government and Congress and members of Amnesty
     Internationalâ¦"
     Pelosi Rewarded the Hangman and Turned Her Back on the Victim
     "Instead of demanding [Al-Labwani's] immediate release [from
     prison], Pelosi went to reward the hangman, and turned her back on
     the victim. Did Al-Labwani fall victim to the trust he placed in
     America's promises to support democracy and those demanding it?
     "This is more than saddening; it is disgraceful to the highest
     degree. But not all of the blame falls on Ms. Pelosi alone. Over
     the last four months, more than 10 U.S. members of Congress, from
     both parties⦠have made the pilgrimage to Damascus and met with
     Assad⦠What is certain is that support for reform and democracy in
     Syria was not on their agenda.
     "Any observer cannot help but be astounded how elected
     representatives of the American people, which loves liberty and
     humanity and is devoted to democracy, can engage with a first-rate
     dictatorial regime..."(7)

   The last paragraph accurately describes how I have observed middle
   east policy throughout my lifetime. Time and time again I have been
   stunned how our country, that claims to love freedom and democracy,
   has supported some of the worst dictators in history. When you boil it
   all down, it amounts to cowardice. We have been fearful to confront
   dictators because we think it might push us into war.
   Yet we constantly get embroiled in wars anyway. It all seems rather
   silly to me.
   And who knew that there were Republicans and Democrats in the MidEast
   as well?

References

   1. http://www.memri.org/bin/opener_latest.cgi?ID=SD153707