Despite Bush rebuke, Pelosi visits Syria

DAMASCUS, Syria -- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi mingled with Syrians in a market and made the sign of the cross at a Christian tomb yesterday during a visit to pursue dialogue with the country's leader. President Bush denounced the trip, saying it sends mixed signals to Syria's government.

Pelosi's visit to Syria was the latest challenge to the White House by congressional Democrats, who are taking a more assertive role in influencing policy in the Middle East and the Iraq war.

The Bush administration, which accuses President Bashar Assad's government of supporting terrorism, has resisted calls for direct talks to help ease the crisis in Iraq and make progress in the Israel-Palestinian peace process.

Soon after Pelosi's arrival in Damascus, Bush criticized her 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."

Pelosi, a California Democrat, did not comment on Bush's remarks before heading from the airport to Damascus's historic Old City. She was scheduled to meet Assad today.

Wearing a flowered head scarf and 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 also stopped at an elaborate tomb in the mosque, said in Muslim tradition to contain the head of John the Baptist, and made the sign of the cross.

About 10 percent of Syria's 18 million people are Christian , and John the Baptist is revered as a prophet by both Christians and Muslims.

At a nearby outdoor market, Syrians crowded around, offering her dried figs and nuts and chatting 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.

Democrats have argued that the United States should engage its top rivals in the Mideast -- Iran and Syria -- to make headway in easing crises in Iraq, Lebanon, and the Israeli-Arab peace process. Last year, the bipartisan Iraq Study Group recommended talks with the two countries.

Bush rejected the recommendations. But in February, the United States joined a gathering of regional diplomats in Baghdad that included Iran and Syria for talks on Iraq.

Visiting neighboring Lebanon on Monday, Pelosi shrugged off White House criticism of her trip to Syria, noting 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 Lebanon, and their support for the Hezbollah militant group.

"We have no illusions, but we have great hope," said Pelosi, who met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank city of Ramallah earlier yesterday.

The United States accuses Syria of allowing Iraqi Sunni insurgents to operate from its territory, backing the Hezbollah and Hamas militant groups, and trying to destabilize the Lebanese government. Syria denies the allegations.

Relations reached a low point in early 2005 when Washington withdrew its ambassador to Damascus to protest the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

Many Lebanese blamed Syria -- which had troops in Lebanon at the time -- for the assassination. Damascus denied involvement.

Washington has since succeeded in largely isolating Damascus, with its European and Arab allies shunning Assad. The last high-ranking US official to visit Syria was Richard Armitage, then-deputy secretary of state, in January 2005.

The isolation, however, has begun to crumble in recent months, with visits by US lawmakers and some European officials.