WASHINGTON, April 3 (UPI) -- President Bush said the visit to Syria by Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi was counter-productive to U.S. policy.
"We've made it clear to high-ranking officials, whether they be Republicans or Democrats, that going to Syria sends mixed signals - signals in the region and ... mixed signals to President (Bashir) Assad," Bush said. "And by that, I mean, photo opportunities and/or meetings with President Assad lead the Assad government to believe they're part of the mainstream of the international community when, in fact, they're a state sponsor of terrorism; when, in fact, they're helping to expedite -- or at least not stopping the movement of foreign fighters from Syria into Iraq ... ."
Pelosi is visiting Syria as part of a Middle East tour while Congress is in recess.
The Bush administration has been at logger-heads with the Damascus government for years. Syria has been accused of involvement in the assassination of Lebanese political figures, meddling in Lebanese domestic politics, of allowing Palestinian terrorists to maintain offices in the country and of helping supply funds to Hezbollah militants in southern Lebanon.
It has also been accused of allowing its territory to be used by jihadists fighting against the United States-led coalition and the coalition-backed government in Iraq.
"There have been a lot of people who have gone to see President Assad ... and yet we haven't seen action. In other words, he hasn't responded," Bush said. "It's one thing to send a message; it's another thing to have the person receiving the message actually do something."
The United States has been urging international isolation and pressure to alter Syrian behavior.
