Democrat Ignores State Department

CNN.com reports that,

In a direct affront to the Bush administration, a Democratic senator spent an hour Wednesday with Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad in Damascus, asking him to do more to stabilize Iraq.

Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida, a member of the Armed Services and Foreign Relations committees, met with Al-Assad after the State Department said that it disapproved of his trip.

The United States has limited diplomatic ties with Syria because of its support of Hezbollah and Hamas, which the U.S. deems terrorist organizations, and President Bush has expressed reluctance to seek help from Damascus on Iraq until the Syrians curb that support and reduce their influence in Lebanon.

Al-Assad "clearly indicated a willingness to cooperate" in controlling its border with Iraq, Nelson told reporters in a conference call following the meeting. The U.S. says foreign fighters often enter Iraq across that boundary.

This shows that the next 2 years will be very interesting. How cooperative will the new Democraticly controlled Congress be? I think that both sides, the executive and legislative branch of government need to cooperate with one another. If the State Department does not approve of a trip, their is probably a qualified reason for it. Sen. Bill Nelson really needs to think if his unauthorized meetings are the best for the nation.

What do you think?