Lately though she has not just given me reason to disagree with her, she has given me a reason to see her as an actual danger to America itself.
That, in my mind, is completely unacceptable.
I am not the only one, it seems that even some of the most liberal of media is beginning to understand that being a strong woman in a posiition of power also requires her to show some responsibility for the consequences of her actions.
This is something she does not understand, and since it is very difficult to teach an old dog new tricks, she might never come to that realization.
Editorials in both Wapo and the New York Times has both noticed and mentioned now her acute ability to show no understanding whatsoever about Foreign Policy as her most recent foray into it was an abject failure and the only people she actual gets good reviews from are the terrorists themselves.
Wapo said:
HOUSE SPEAKER Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) offered an excellent demonstration yesterday of why members of Congress should not attempt to supplant the secretary of state when traveling abroad....
[...]
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. Two weeks ago Ms. Pelosi rammed legislation through the House of Representatives that would strip Mr. Bush of his authority as commander in chief to manage troop movements in Iraq. Now she is attempting to introduce a new Middle East policy that directly conflicts with that of the president. We have found much to criticize in Mr. Bush's military strategy and regional diplomacy. But Ms. Pelosi's attempt to establish a shadow presidency is not only counterproductive, it is foolish.
The New York Times piece today handled it differently, they did their usual Bush bashing but ended it with:
Ms. Pelosi did not help matters by claiming in Damascus that Israel was ready to talk — an assertion that Israeli officials were quick to deny. Her job is to spur the Bush administration to pursue active diplomacy, not to attempt to conduct that diplomacy herself. The more she hews to the careful path, the more useful her efforts will be.
Faultline USA has done a wonderful job of pulling up what multiple news organizations have had to say about Pelosi's latests stunt.
From the Arab news to the Wall Street Journal as well as New York Post, Boston Herald, USA Today.... it continues still because people realize that this wasn't just a political game that has limited ramifications, but rather a public display of sheer stupidity that can cause ripple effects throughout the Middle East and ending up harming our nation, our country.
The beginning paragraph and the last paragraph from the Daily Star pretty much sums up a portion of the damage here: (Please remember the Daily Star is based IN Lebanon which makes the last paragraph so much sadder)
We can thank the US speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, for having informed Syrian President Bashar Assad, from Beirut, that "the road to solving Lebanon's problems passes through Damascus." Now, of course, all we need to do is remind Pelosi that the spirit and letter of successive United Nations Security Council resolutions, as well as Saudi and Egyptian efforts in recent weeks, have been destined to ensure precisely the opposite: that Syria end its meddling in Lebanese affairs.
[...]
Perhaps Pelosi and other foreign officials will understand this simple equation one day, after again failing to persuade Assad to sell Hizbullah out. Unfortunately, foreign bigwigs come to town, their domestic calculations in hand; then they leave, and we're left picking up the pieces.
The reason I said it makes what Pelosi actually did that much sadder is because the Lebanonese people have had it rough and Hezbollah, which is sponsored by Syria and Iran is already tearing that country apart and after doing so MUCH to take Syria out of Lebanons political forum, Nancy Poelosi just stated, for the world to see, that Syria should be involved.....she not only went against OUR foreign policy there, but she also went against THEIRS.
Even the moderate liberals are frowning on what they have been watching unfold.
From Michael P.F. van der Galiën, whom I enjoy reading because although I disagree quite often with his take on things, he does think them through, uses good analysis and does not stand by any particular side, he just shoots from the hip.
And that’s really what this was all about, wasn’t it? Pelosi did what she did, not to help Lebanon, but to score points domestically. The sad reality of the situation is that Pelosi has made the situation worse by doing just about everything wrong.
That IS the bottom line here.
By playing political games and one upsmanship against the President, she did not care about the damage she was doing to our allies and to those that are fighting hard to become a democracies, all she cared about was doing what she wanted, when she wanted and the hell with the consequences.
In one fell swoop, she damaged us as a nation as also caused more tension between Syria and Israel (and THAT is a hard feat to accomplish given their history), harmed Lebanon, and quite possibly commited a felony by violating the Logan Act by playing domestic political games.
QandO states it better than I can:
She spends a few days in the area, sets diplomacy back 20 years and there are those on the left who defend her overreaching even while they condemn the administration for trying to expand executive power. Make sense to you? Wait it isn't about sense, its about politics. You only defend the indefensible when it is your side doing it ... right?
Anyway, read the rest of the article cited to understand the gist of what Pelosi stuck her size 9s in and that of which she managed to make a mess. A very complex situation with all sorts of permutations as well as active diplomatic efforts, all of which she apparently managed to misunderstand.
Exactly, although I will point out that I am sure even some of the liberal websites have denounced this latest idiocy, although I cannot quote you any examples as of yet, that might be because I do not frequent them often.....at least I hope some of the liberals can be honest enough with their readers to be able to admit when one of their own has royally screwed up.
From Arab News:
The Pelosization of US foreign policy could plunge the Middle East into endless civil and regional wars, facilitate the return of terrorist organizations now facing defeat and ultimate destruction, and, in time, threaten US national security on a grander scale. And that, in turn, could force the US into wars bigger and costlier than the ones in Afghanistan and Iraq that Pelosi regards as mistakes.
Being a woman, yes it is nice to see a woman able, in todays world, to obtain a position of leadership, but in this case, that is not worth the damage she has done so far and will continue to do until she is stopped cold.
Nancy Pelosi must be taught that their are ramifications for breaking the law, harming other nations and harming America.
The questions is....will anyone do anything about it.
The liberals could very well help shake off the stigma that has been attached to them for so long, by recognizing, admitting and taking care of their internal problems, in this case Pelsoi, by themselves...thereby restoring some respect to a political party that has been seen for so long to be weak on National Security and Foreign Policy.
So this is not a call to the media or to the President....this is a call to the Democrats to prove, once and for all, that you can see beyond party lines and discipline one of your own, not in a partisan manner but because you are able to see right from wrong and are capable of understanding and acting when it is a member of your party and putting your country above your politics.
If not, then you do, indeed, deserve the stigma that has attached itself to you for so long....
My former brethren, this is one of the few distinguishable moments that present themselves over the course of history to establish once and for all that you have the ability to see what is best for America and act on that instead of making excuses and closing your eyes and refusing to see what you do not want to see.
The question is, can you do it?
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