See previous: Dhimmicratic leadership -- Take 2

Peloopsi As Pelosi Syriasly Bungles Mission
By Ian Bishop,  Post Correspondent (H/T: R J Del Vecchio)

April 5, 2007 -- WASHINGTON - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi yesterday met with Syrian dictator and terror sponsor Bashar Assad - drawing an immediate slap from the White House for rewarding his "bad behavior."

And, to make matters worse, she botched a peace message she carried from Israel.

Vice President Dick Cheney was livid, saying Assad has "been isolated and cut off because of his bad behavior. And the unfortunate thing about the speaker's visit is, it sort of breaks down that barrier."

"It means that without him having done any of those things he should do . . . he gets a visit from a high-ranking American anyway. In other words, his bad behavior is being rewarded," Cheney told ABC News Radio.

Pelosi brought a message from Israel to Assad - but bungled the diplomatic overture, forcing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office to issue a statement correcting the House speaker.  ...

***

Pelosi's Pratfall
Ed Morrissey

Nancy Pelosi's amateurish fumble in Syria left the Washington Post less than impressed. In an editorial titled "Pratfall in Damascus," the Post doesn't stop at scolding Pelosi for demonstrating why egotistical Representatives should not insert themselves into diplomacy. It also questions her motives and accuses her of attempting to create a shadow presidency:

Ms. Pelosi was criticized by President Bush for visiting Damascus at a time when the administration -- rightly or wrongly -- has frozen high-level contacts with Syria. Mr. Bush said that thanks to the speaker's freelancing Mr. Assad was getting mixed messages from the United States. Ms. Pelosi responded by pointing out that Republican congressmen had visited Syria without drawing presidential censure. That's true enough -- but those other congressmen didn't try to introduce a new U.S. diplomatic initiative in the Middle East. "We came in friendship, hope, and determined that the road to Damascus is a road to peace," Ms. Pelosi grandly declared.

Never mind that that statement is ludicrous: As any diplomat with knowledge of the region could have told Ms. Pelosi, Mr. Assad is a corrupt thug whose overriding priority at the moment is not peace with Israel but heading off U.N. charges that he orchestrated the murder of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq al-Hariri. The really striking development here is the attempt by a Democratic congressional leader to substitute her own foreign policy for that of a sitting Republican president. ...

The Democrats, led by Pelosi, have tried to undermine Bush for years. Now that they have the majority in Congress, they can give full vent to their schemes. The efforts of the past couple of months show that the Democrats want to turn the Constitution upside down, strip the executive branch of its power, and make Congress the supreme power in the American system.

Well, sorry, but that's the British system.  ...

***

Nancy Pelosi, Peacemaker or Klutz? 
Rick Moran

Now we know why Pelosi was wearing that head scarf in Damascus yesterday. It wasn’t in deference to Muslim tradition. It was to keep her brains from dribbling out of her ears:

The Prime Minister’s Office issued a rare “clarification” Wednesday that, in gentle diplomatic terms, contradicted US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s statement in Damascus that she had brought a message from Israel about a willingness to engage in peace talks.

According to the statement, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert emphasized in his meeting with Pelosi on Sunday that “although Israel is interested in peace with Syria, that country continues to be part of the Axis of Evil and a force that encourages terror in the entire Middle East.” ...

Obviously, she should have tied the scarf a little tighter given the copious amounts of gray matter that must have oozed out during her visit to the Middle East. Or perhaps she should have used a tin foil hat:

Pelosi, who met in Damascus with Syrian President Bashar Assad over the objections of US President George W. Bush, said she brought a message to Assad from Olmert saying that Israel was ready for peace talks.

“We were very pleased with the reassurances we received from the president [Assad] that he was ready to resume the peace process. He was ready to engage in negotiations for peace with Israel,” Pelosi said after meeting Assad.

She said the meeting with the Syrian leader “enabled us to communicate a message from Prime Minister Olmert that Israel was ready to engage in peace talks as well.”

According to officials in the Prime Minister’s Office, however, this was not what transpired during her meeting with Olmert.

Anyone who believes any “assurances” from that murderous thug Assad obviously needs some additional Reynolds Wrap on their tin foil beanie to deflect all the rays marked “stupid” from penetrating their skull. ...

***

Divide and Conquer Here!
Jules Crittenden

This one’s so good it deserves a mini-moronocy roundup all its own. Matt Stoller at MyDD:

Pelosi is acting as a real Secretary of State or President would in foreign affairs.  She is negotiating and representing an America that offers itself as a trusted partner for peace and collective security.

Sure, if you think it’s presidential to veer way out of your lane to cater to people who are actively involved in the murder of our troops and those they are trying to protect. It’s cool to give terrorist regimes photo ops!

Much of what America did in international affairs prior to the Bush Presidency was to act as sort of buoy, or a neutral third party in negotiations, a bulwark that other nations could broadly trust.

Not sure which alternate universe this guy has been dwelling in.  The United States fought hard battles with communism (evil) in Korea and Vietnam, fought more battles through proxies in Central America and Afghanistan and maintained massively expensive, explicitly non-neutral garrisons in Europe and Asia.  The bobbing around like a neutral buoy was mainly done by people like Jimmy Carter (vs. Iran) and Bill Clinton (vs. al-Qaeda).  Nations trusted us because they knew where we stood, which was between them and the people who would enslave all of us.  Our enemies feared us, even after our failures showed them our weak points.  Reaction to the surge strategy shows this continues to be true, although a serious mistake was just made in dealings with Iran, which was allowed to toy with our ally. ...

***

Pelosi Got Played
Dan Riehl

Speakerette San Fran Nanny Pelosi has embarrassed the United States by misrepresenting important details of her visit to the Middle East and allowed herself to played like a strung out pole dancer in a sleazy night club not even on the main strip.

The Prime Minister's Office has strongly denied that Israel relayed a message to Syria, accepting its calls to renew peace negotiations.

In a special statement of clarification, the bureau stressed that Olmert had told Pelosi that Israel continued to regard Syria as "part of the axis of evil and a party encouraging terrorism in the entire Middle East."

According to sources at the Prime Minister's Office, "Pelosi took part of the things that were said in the meeting, and used what suited her."

Ouch! Amateur hour is over now, little Nancy, it's past time to come home. If you behave, your party may even let you go out, again. All you did was stick a feather in a terrorist's cap - you should be proud.

It's time we admit that, gender aside, Pelosi is a, in a word, moron. From reader Andrew: ...

See also: I Went To Syria And All I Got Was This Lousy Scarf