The value of face-to-face

This is a fantastic example of how a "radical" action can open the door for more sane communication. A month ago, Nancy Pelosi was criticized by the White House for traveling to Syria to speak with President Bashar al-Assad.

But then today, the New York Times reported that Condoleezza Rice visited Syria to meet with Walid al-Moallem, Syria’s foreign minister. The U.S. cut off relations with them over two years ago after deeming the country a state sponsor of terrorism.

But Rice's visit today creates hope on both sides of the divide:

Mr. Moallem said he hoped that the meeting was the start of something more. He asked that the United States return its ambassador to Damascus. Mr. Bush recalled the ambassador, Margaret Scobey, two years ago after the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

“We hope the Americans are serious, because we in Damascus are serious about improving relations with America,” Mr. Moallem said.

“This is a marked improvement in the administration’s ostrich policy approach, and a tacit admission of how wrong it was last month in criticizing the Speaker of the House and congressional colleagues, including myself, for going to Damascus,” Representative Tom Lantos, Democrat of California, said in a statement. “As a lifelong internationalist, Secretary Rice knows better than most the great value of face-to-face discussion, even with those with whom we strongly disagree.”

Nancy Pelosi is a rockstar!

The New York Times reports that she visited Syria "with a high-level group of lawmakers including Henry Waxman [of California]" (who also rocks, by the way - I've been sending him letters for years and always get a response back about his efforts in that area). They met with President Bashar al-Assad of Syria.

It's exciting enough to have a female Speaker of the House, the third-ranking elected official in the United States after the president and the vice president, but now she's basically advocating a different approach to diplomacy in the Middle East. She's showing the world that we are a complex government and President Bush doesn't speak for all Americans.

A side-by-side comparison of their views from the article:
PELOSI “expressed concern about Syria’s support for Hezbollah and Hamas,” to Assad and “expressed our interest in using our good offices in promoting peace between Israel and Syria.”

BUSH said the visit sent mixed signals to the Middle East and to President Assad’s government.

PELOSI and many other Democrats, as well as some Republicans, have spoken often in recent months about the value of increasing dialogue with Syria as a way to improve stability in the region.

BUSH told reporters that he saw little point in talking to Syria now. “Sending delegations hasn’t worked,” he said. “It’s just simply been counterproductive.”

A bureau chief for a leftist Damascus newspaper said "Pelosi’s approach represents a more practical policy; the administration’s policy over the last few years has been based on demands and ideology."

A shopkeeper in downtown Damascus summed it up perfectly: "She views the world through a different perspective than Bush. She’s more open-minded.”

See? Rockstar.