UNFINISHED BUSINESS:

Recalibrate Pelosi's GPS? (James G. Zumwalt, December 30, 2007 , Washington Times)

There is always danger involved in a democratic leader's decision to go to a foreign state to conduct direct talks with a tyrannical leader whose inability to respect the human rights of his own people is obvious. The danger lies in giving credibility to the tyrant and undermining support for that country's human-rights activists.

The month after Mrs. Pelosi's visit, the Syrian government launched an accelerated crackdown on free speech and peaceful activism, arresting several dissidents within a three-week period. Perhaps emboldened by Mrs. Pelosi's visit and her personal accolades about the Syrian president, Mr. Assad sentenced six of Syria's leading activists to extremely harsh sentences ranging from three to 12 years. The six — Michel Kilo, Mahmud 'Issa, Sulaiman Shummar, Khalil Hussain, Dr. Kamal al-Labwani and Anwar al-Bunni — were all convicted on politically motivated charges, most for simply signing a declaration calling for improved Lebanese-Syrian relations. These sentences made clear Mr. Assad's mandate that Syrian citizens are not to express political opinions, even though this right is guaranteed by an international agreement to which Damascus is a party. While the United States and the European Union criticized the sentences, Speaker Pelosi remained uncharacteristically silent.

Also the month after Mrs. Pelosi's visit came passage of a referendum to confirm a second seven-year term of office for Mr. Assad. In a general election reminiscent of the sham elections that took place in Iraq during Saddam Hussein's reign — with only one candidate on the ballot — Mr. Assad received 97.2 percent of the vote.

Tolerating the existence of the Syrian regime is the biggest black mark on President Bush's record.

Posted by Orrin Judd at December 30, 2007 8:20 AM