Speaker Pelosi’s decision to embark on high-profile tour of the Middle East is, in my opinion, a serious mistake. It will damage the US, the Democratic Party, her own stature in the foreign arena, and only serves to enable our rivals.

While political leaders in the various countries of the Middle East might be of varying capacity in fields such as military strategy or economics, they are all very astute in the game of politics. It is how they survive. Pelosi’s motives are not going to be lost on any leaders in the region. A friendly leader could resent being used as a pawn in Pelosi’s domestic US political game and a rival would be quick to use the trip in any way possible to weaken the US in the region. In summary, this trip is a potential foreign policy disaster for everyone involved including Pelosi.

While no schedule has been announced, the fact that she will be visiting Syria has been broadcast widely. This may cause some anxiety with countries in the region who are upset with recent Syrian behavior. The government of Iraq might be nervous because Syria has been playing a role in enabling outsiders to stir up trouble in their country. They also understand that it is in the domestic political interest of the Democrats for things to go badly in Iraq. The Democrats have shown in Congress that they care much less for security in Iraq than they do for pandering to the latest public opinion polls in the US. They have little reason to believe the Democrats will not stab them in the back for short-term political gain. The same might be true with Lebanon and possibly Jordan. And I can see no reason for Israel to support this trip.

The trip also causes confusion on the part of foreign policy makers as to who is in charge in the US. Who do they negotiate with? Who really conducts foreign policy? This attempt to play domestic politics by muddying the waters of foreign policy hurts the country as a whole. The Democrats are in no position to make promises because they do not have the authority to deliver on them. The Democrats are intentionally presenting a picture of a US that is unable to act because the Legislative and Executive branches will obstruct each other and prevent anything from going forward. It is in the interest of Syria to foster such a view of a US unable to conduct an effective foreign policy and so that is why I believe they have accepted Pelosi’s offer to take part in her political circus act.

That no other countries have been announced as stops of her Middle East fact-finding mission might also be telling. There certainly is no advantage for a friendly country to be seen being used as a prop in a domestic US politician’s internal games. I suspect only countries who wish to weaken the US will accept her offer.

In the long run, games such as this one will weaken Pelosi’s and the Democrats (hmm, there’s a name for a song and dance act …. “Pelosi and the Democrats” like “Josie and the Pussycats”) stature on the world stage. A foreign country can never be sure that the Democrats might sell them up the river for domestic political gain. The House Democrats voted nearly unanimously, with only one single dissenting vote, to go to war in Iraq. When public opinion changed, rather than play the role of leader and act to influence that opinion, they have simply changed their spots to fit the background. This behavior tells a foreign country that the US can not be trusted. The Democrats might be with you one minute and against you the next. They have no overall strategy or guiding principles other than being against the opposition political party at all costs.

Maybe the Democrats are so naive as to believe that they can undo the damage they are causing now should they gain the White House. I don’t think world leaders are that naive when it comes to political gaming. The message has been sent and I believe it has been received; the Democrats are not to be trusted. They will turn on you in a second and they will simply react to the Republicans. The Democratic Party’s foreign policy is simple, they simply oppose whatever the Republican position is.

So go ahead, Speaker Pelosi, make a fool out of yourself, your party, and your country by allowing yourself to be used as a pawn in Syria’s foreign policy games and undermining US foreign policy. But mark my words, those chickens will come home to roost. They always do.