By BEN EVANS, Associated Press Writer
April 04, 2007
WASHINGTON - Three Republican congressmen who parted with
President Bush by meeting with Syrian leaders said Wednesday
it is important to maintain a dialogue with a country the White
House says sponsors terrorism.
"
I don't care what the administration says on this. You've
got to do what you think is in the best interest of your
country," said Rep. Frank Wolf (news, bio, voting record),
R-Va. "I want us to be successful in Iraq. I want us
to clamp down on Hezbollah."
Washington accuses Syria of backing Hamas and Hezbollah, two
groups it deems terrorist organizations. The Bush administration
also says Syria is contributing to the violence in Iraq by
allowing Sunni insurgents to operate from its territory and
is destabilizing Lebanon's government.
Bush sharply criticized House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (news,
bio, voting record), D-Calif., for leading a delegation to
meet with Syria's president, Bashar Assad.
The White House, however, stayed relatively quiet about a
similar trip just a few days earlier by Wolf and GOP Reps.
Robert Aderholt (news, bio, voting record) of Alabama and Joseph
Pitts (news, bio, voting record) of Pennsylvania.
Returning on Wednesday, the lawmakers said they made clear
to Assad that they support Bush and were not representing the
administration. But they said they felt it was important to
keep open lines of communication.
"This is an area where we would disagree with the administration," Aderholt
said. "None of us in the Congress work for the president.
We have to cast our own votes and ultimately answer to our
own constituents. ... I think there's room that we can try
to work with them as long as they know where we draw the line."
A White House spokesman, Alex Conant, said the administration
tries to deter lawmakers from both parties from engaging Assad.
"We discourage all visits to Syria because it's a state
sponsor of terror," he said. "A lot of officials
have gone, and it hasn't changed the Syrians' behavior."
___
Associated Press writer Kimberly Hefling contributed to this
report.
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