Today's context-free WaPo op-ed on Syria and Pelosi

it's a masterpiece of context-free journalism with a familiar theme - smear pelosi and blame the democrats...

headline...

No Results in Damascus

they go on to say...

Congressional leaders leaders who visited Damascus this month to meet Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad gave a practical test to the oft-stated theory that "engaging" his regime is more likely to produce results than the Bush administration's policy of isolating it. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was particularly unstinting in her goodwill, declaring that she had come to see Mr. Assad "in friendship, hope, and determined that the road to Damascus is a road to peace."

[...]

Three weeks have passed, so it's fair to ask: Has there been any positive change in Syrian behavior -- any return gesture of goodwill, however slight?

after painstakingly listing all of the areas in which nothing has improved since the visit, they render their judgment...

To recount this dismal record is not to endorse President Bush's refusal to engage in high-level bilateral contacts with Mr. Assad's regime. In certain contexts it may be worth trying to talk to Syria -- for example, when negotiations are directed at particular ends, such as securing Iraq's borders, and coupled with forceful diplomatic and economic steps to raise the pressure on the dictatorship. The danger of offering "friendship" and "hope" to a ruler such as Mr. Assad is that it will be interpreted as acquiescence by the United States to the policies of dictatorship. Ms. Pelosi's courting of Mr. Assad didn't cause [imprisoned human rights lawyer Anwar al-Bunni] prison sentence this week -- but it certainly did not discourage it.

the bush administration's insistent labeling of syria as part of the "axis of evil," its refusal to engage in diplomatic dialog, and its attempts to isolate syria, are given only the slightest mention and "engaging" syria (the quotes are the wapo's, not mine) is smirkingly labeled as a "theory" (the quotes are mine, not the wapo's)... why in the world would bashar assad move one inch in any direction favorable to the requests presented to him by lowly members of the u.s. house of representatives when he knows the president's position has not (and probably will not) change...?

but, wait, there's more...

the only congressional name in the entire piece is, of course, nancy pelosi, who, as anyone with two brain cells knows, is a democrat, although the word "democrat" does not appear anywhere in the piece... neither does the word "republican" and neither does any mention of either the republican house member, david hobson, who traveled with pelosi or the republican house delegation, robert anderholt and frank wolf, that preceded her or the republican congressman, darrell issa, that followed her...

although only a short piece and written in the measured, articulate, oh-so-insightful manner of a major newspaper's editorial page, this is a perfect example of the kind of journalistic bullshit moyers demonstrated to such devastating effect in his documentary... it is also precisely the kind of journalistic bullshit that's destroying the american public's right to real news and informed opinion rather than government propaganda...

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