It is a fitting irony that Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi's "fact-finding" tour of the Middle East has run afoul of the facts. Wednesday, she told Syria's President Assad that Israel was ready for peace talks. Prime Minister Olmert of Israel, who had met with her Sunday, announced today that he told her no such thing, adding that Syria's arming of terrorists in Lebanon, Iraq, and Israel, as well as its connections with nuclear-nutty Iran, make this impossible.
More important than how Pelosi goofed up her Mideast messages like a childhood game of "Telephone" is what the heck she thought she was doing there. Her self-assigned mission, from which the White House tried to dissuade her, had the announced intent of undoing U.S. policy - namely, the isolation of Syria. a thugocracy and terror sponsor. That means her trip fits the definition of treason: giving aid and comfort to the enemy.
Then again, if Pelosi was hoping to get arrested for it, she'll have to take a number and wait. The Feds still haven't processed Sen. Edward Kennedy for his clandestine cooperation with the Kremlin during President Reagan's nuclear stand-off with the Soviets in the 1980s. According to information since released from KGB files, Sen. Ted Kennedy (D.-Mass.) offered to help the Soviets create a public relations strategy that would coordinate with congressional Democrats' efforts to defeat the U.S. missile strategy and make President Reagan's defeat more likely in the 1984 elections.
The appalling, astonishing thing about the top-ranked Democrats is their willing embrace of evil - seemingly, any evil - as long is the evil opposes whatever Republican is in power. You don't find Democrats making unauthorized diplomatic missions to reach out to, say, Tony Blair.
Sen. John Kerry (D.-Mass.) gets dibs on a berth in the federal penitentiary ahead of Pelosi, for his encouraging visit to then-Soviet pawn Daniel Ortega in 1985. Kerry also gets credits toward a longer stay, since in 1972, as a member of Vietnam Veterans Against the War, he met with North Vietnamese operative Le Duc Tho, who was then negotiating against our side in the Paris Peace Accords - which Le's government broke when it invaded South Vietnam with Soviet weapons and help in 1975.
Not only did Pelosi, Kerry and Kennedy defy the Constitution (only the Executive Branch may engage in diplomacy), but all were specifically trying to strengthen an enemy's position against the U.S.
All three would no doubt argue they were trying to make the world a better place. Similarly, you might say that Benedict Arnold had policy disagreements with George Washington and his generals, and decided to meet with the British on his own because he felt he had a better way of resolving the colonies' conflict with the Crown. Such as helping the British torch U.S. forts and cities, so that he could be granted a nice estate in return.
Pelosi seems to have run her trip like a giddy schoolgirl. Israeli Prime Minister Olmert's office even pointed out that he went so far as to tell Pelosi that her self-guided diplomatic tour was a bad idea. That talking to Middle East terrorists just encourages them. But what does Olmert know? He just lives there.
To Pelosi, her junket may have seemed harmless, like a hostess telling white lies all around the room to get people to start making nice. But unauthorized diplomacy is treason for a reason. Treating international sociopaths as if they were normal gains them sympathy and support, both inside and outside whatever little republics of fear they inhabit. To raise their status requires you to be willing to see more of your country's allies, probably your own soldiers, and possibly your neighbors and their families, killed for your benefit.
How can such well-groomed and well-connected people as U.S. congressmen do something so squalid? Ideology and personal arrogance obviously help. But I think the main reason is this: Suffering through the tedium and humiliation of watching your political rivals exercise their legal authority is too much for some people to bear.
It is painful to say to yourself, "At least for now, they're in charge and I'm not. They may be wrong, and lead the country into disaster. Perhaps worse, they may be right, and they will get all the credit and power, and not me."
It requires humility and detachment to simply do the right thing and serve your country. Some would rather risk seeing our cities on fire once again.
