Memo to Robert Aderholt: President Bush is the President, you are not

I was disappointed to see Alabama Congressman Robert Aderholt's name among the three Republicans who defied President Bush and visited Syria.  Although he is not my representative I do plan to call his office tomorrow to express my disappointment.  I hope Alabamians living in his district will do the same.

From The Washington Post:

DAMASCUS, Syria -- U.S. House members meeting with President Bashar Assad Sunday said they believed there was an opportunity for dialogue with the Syrian leadership.

The U.S. House members, who included Virginia Republican Frank Wolf, Pennsylvania Republican Joe Pitts and Alabama Republican Robert Aderholt, also said they had raised with Syrian officials the issue of stopping the alleged flow of foreign fighters from Syria to Iraq .

I'm sure three Republican Congressman are going to make a huge impact on Assad.  He will probably stop funding terrorists tomorrow.  And I'm sure Aderholt and company convinced him to have a talk with his friends in Iran about releasing the 15 British Sailors and Marines.  April fools.

In a statement issued by the U.S. Embassy in Damascus, the congressmen said they had talked about "ending support for Hezbollah and Hamas, recognizing Israel's right to exist in peace and security, and ceasing interference in Lebanon."

"We came because we believe there is an opportunity for dialogue," the statement said. "We are following in the lead of Ronald Reagan, who reached out to the Soviets during the Cold War," it added.

Captain Ed points out a minor flaw in the comparison to Ronald Reagan:

Perhaps they missed this one particular difference, but Ronald Reagan was President and the Constitutional determiner of American foreign policy. Congress doesn't have the authority to conduct negotiations on behalf of the United States, just as they do not have the authority to take command of the military. If these three stooges want to shape American foreign policy, then let them run for President. In the meantime, they should stick to legislating.

And what does our current President think about negotiations with Syria?

Despite the poor relationship between the two countries stemming from disagreements over Iraq and suspected Syrian support for militant groups, there have been recent calls in the U.S. to engage Syria.

Earlier this year, a bipartisan U.S. commission initially proposed by Wolf recommended the Bush administration launch new diplomatic initiatives with both Syria and Iran, something it has refused to do.  (my emphasis)

President Bush refused to follow the absurd recommendations of the Iraq Study Group, yet these Republican Congressmen, following the lead of an equally absurd Democrat, trot off to Syria to have a dialogue.  And the genius who recommended the ISG is one of them.  Thanks for the reminder.

Captain Ed has the final word:

Jimmy Carter and to a lesser extent Jesse Jackson have made a career of screwing up international relations. Nothing good has ever come of it. I found this type of thing distasteful when it happened to Bill Clinton as well. The President, regardless of the party to which he belongs, needs to present American policy as a united front. It's bad enough when the opposition party undermines that credibility; it's astoundingly idiotic for the President's own party to destroy it.

Astoundingly idiotic.