Senators in Syria

In addition to Senator Kerry, another group of senators has gone to Syria. Senator Ben Cardin, my Senator is one of them.

MIDDLE EAST TRAVEL: As Chairman of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (U.S. Helsinki Commission), I am honored to be leading a Congressional delegation to Israel, Syria, and Austria from February 13-21, 2009. Joining me for this mission will be Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Roger Wicker (R-MS), and Tom Udall (D-NM), and Helsinki Commissioner Congressman Mike McIntyre (D-NC), as well as Congresswoman Gwen Moore (D-WI). Joining the delegation in Vienna will be Helsinki Commission Co-Chairman Congressman Alcee L. Hastings (D-FL).

ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN RELATIONS: While in Jerusalem, we plan to meet with leaders of the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority. In addition, the delegation will visit Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Authority. The delegation will arrive just days after the February 10 general elections to the Israeli Knesset and following a visit by George Mitchell, President Obama’s special envoy to the Middle East. The focus of the trip will be on U.S-Israeli bilateral relations, including cooperation in addressing military and security issues, as well as the political and social situation in the Palestinian Authority.

REFUGEES/SYRIA: Our delegation will then travel to Damascus, Syria, where we plan to meet with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Foreign Minister Walid Mualem. In addition, we will visit the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) facility in Damascus to assess the situation of Iraqi refugees in Syria. The focus of the trip will be on US-Syrian bilateral relations, the state of the peace process and regional issues.

AFP reports:

It is the second US Congressional delegation to visit Syria in less than a month and John Kerry, foreign relations committee chairman, is expected to make the country one of his stops on a current Middle East tour.
…
US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi went to Damascus in April 2007 to meet President Assad, to the annoyance of President George W Bush, who sought to isolate the Syrian regime, accusing it of supporting terrorism.

Barack Obama, the new US president, has announced his intention to talk to states previously seen as hostile.

Every time American officials meet with Assad they confer a measure of legitimacy to him. And I don’t expect that Cardin or anyone else in his party will be rude enough to fulfill this request.

Addressing the congressmen in a statement, the six organizations asked them “to deliver a clear message to the leaders of Syria on the need to respect Lebanon’s sovereignty, independence and the dignity of the Lebanese people,” An-Nahar reported.

The statement said the delegation must pressure Syria into implementing “U.N. resolutions, including 1559, 1680 and 1701, to speed up the demarcation of the (Lebanese-Syrian) borders and to cooperate with the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.”

The Lebanese-American groups singled out Resolution 1701, which calls for the “disarmament of armed organizations in Lebanon and an end to the arming of parties” in the country. Damascus must also be asked to resolve the file of missing Lebanese in Syria as soon as possible, the statement said.

Showing understanding doesn’t need to mean tolerating tyranny.

Crossposted on Soccer Dad.