Syria: The PR Game
So by now the news is the buzz of the gantze District of Columbia: Condi is going to Syria.
Her first meeting ever with her Syrian counterpart, the historic US-Syria meeting could take place as early as tomorrow (Thursday), the Wyoming-based Casper Star-Tribune tells us:
Preparations are under way for the United States to meet in high-level talks here with at least one of its fiercest Mideast enemies: Syria...An Egyptian official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not allowed to speak with the media, said Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice could meet with her Syrian counterpart as early as Thursday...
If Rice meets with Moallem it would be the first such high-level talks since the February 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, for which many blame the Syrian government. Syria denies it had anything to do with the killing, but U.S. and European officials have since shunned the regime.
The U.S. also accuses Syria's leaders of allowing terrorists to use their country as a staging area for sending fighters, weapons and other material into Iraq _ allegations Syria denies.
Apparently I'm not the only one without short-term media memory loss, because ThinkProgress.org said the exact same thing I was thinking. Not six weeks ago, when Nancy Pelosi went to Syria, it "wasn't the right time", it was counterproductive, it was the wrong thing to do. Now, it seems that the W cabal have changed their tune, and now want to involve Syria in dialogue.
By the way, want to know how Nancy Pelosi was received in Syria? What did Syrians think about Ms. Pelosi's visit this March?
In short, they LOVE her.
Even the right-wing Washington Times had to take note:
The second most popular politician in Syria these days may be an American: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The California Democrat warmed Syrian hearts with her trip last month to Damascus, an event that people still share with visiting Americans as conversational currency."Nancy Pelosi is good, yes?" asked a Damascus laborer who found himself sitting next to an American at a greasy gyro stand this week. "Nancy Pelosi, good American."
Pictures of Mrs. Pelosi and Syrian President Bashar Assad -- officially Syria's most popular citizen -- still turn up on the local news channels, especially during coverage of the dispute between President Bush and Congress over the Iraq war spending bill.
Mrs. Pelosi's two-day visit to Damascus was a major news event here. Camera crews trailed her as she bought sweets in the ancient Hamadieh souk, made the sign of the cross at what is thought to be the tomb of John the Baptist and donned a black abaya to visit the historic Omayyad Mosque.
Mrs. Pelosi, 67, is praised as "a friend of Syria," and that makes her more influential than Oprah Winfrey and more appealing than the old Hollywood movies shown on satellite television.
One meeting! One summit! Now she's a "friend of Syria"! Now she's bigger than Oprah!
"I love her," said an Iraqi woman who has emigrated to Syria. "She's a grandmother, so handsome, so cute. I see myself, my old self, in her."Despite the lingering personal affection, few expect U.S. policy to change as a result of Mrs. Pelosi's visit. "She is a different face of America, but she does not have ideas, any solutions," the Iraqi woman said.
Ms. Rice? Unmarried, not as personable, and most likely, not as automatically likable as her Democratic predecessor.
I make the statement: this must have had something to do with the White House's change of heart. This regime is hankering for good publicity and when they saw what Pelosi's visit did, now they want to follow suit.
I have the sinking feeling that Ms. Rice's visit is no more than a strategic move in the chess game known as global PR and, no matter what any Syrian official says, the current administration plan will proceed as planned, whatever that plan may be.
