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Syrian reformers say
Pelosi visit 'chilling' 
Exile party asserts Dems 'flushing away'
efforts to help oppressed in Middle East

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's unauthorized diplomacy in the Middle East, including a gesture of peace toward the terrorist-supporting Damascus regime, is having a "chilling" effect on reformers in the region, charges a Syrian political party in exile.

"For Nancy Pelosi to cajole with Assad who has facilitated the killing of American soldiers is a travesty," declared the Reform Party of Syria, a U.S.-based opposition party to the Assad regime that says it formed as a result of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

"Five years of investment by the U.S. State Department and the Bush administration in organizations and people who have committed their lives to helping their oppressed countries is being flushed away by the Democrats in Congress who, with the visit of Pelosi to Syria, have shown that they favor the stability of dictatorships to freedom even if they had a direct hand in killing American troops in Iraq," the party said in a statement.

The party said it "wants to remind all the Democrats in Congress what Assad has been up to in building terrorist bases in Syria."

While many Democrats are aware, because of the intelligence they receive, the U.S. public has not been informed Assad has built four different bases in Syria to train terrorists to send them to Iraq, the statement said.

"Nancy Pelosi's disingenuous attempt at extending a lifeline to the Assad regime by visiting him when the Bush administration is on the brink of successfully breaking him down through pressure and isolation demonstrates how much we can trust the Democrats to do the right thing when it comes to the security of the U.S." the party asserted.

As WND reported, Pelosi's trip to Damascus last week might be a felony under the Logan Act, according to a former State Department official. The Logan Act, initiated by President John Adams in 1798, makes it a felony and provides for a prison sentence of up to three years for any American, "without authority of the United States," to communicate with a foreign government in an effort to influence that government's behavior on any "disputes or controversies with the United States," points out Robert F. Turner, former acting assistant secretary of state for legislative affairs.

Pelosi told reporters that during her talks Wednesday with Assad she "determined that the road to Damascus is the road to peace."

"We came in friendship, hope," she said.

The House speaker also said she conveyed an Israeli message to Assad that the Jewish state was ready to resume peace talks. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert quickly issued a denial, however, stating Israel's policy toward Syria has not changed.

WND reported members of terrorist organizations whose top leaders live in Syria called Pelosi's Damascus visit "brave" and "very appreciated," saying it could bring about "important changes" to America's foreign policy, including talks with "Middle East resistance groups."