Hamas has been claiming that they’ve held meetings with top US Democrat leaders; I’ve been skeptical.

But this outrage makes their claims easier to believe. (Hat tip: Snapped Shot.)

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (L) meets U.S. Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) in Damascus December 13,2006. REUTERS/SANA (SYRIA)

UPDATE at 12/13/06 9:39:35 am:

It isn’t just Bill Nelson. Meeting with America’s openly declared enemies is becoming de rigeur for Democrats: Blogmeister USA: Dodd Plans Talks With Middle East Leaders.

Connecticut’s other senator, Chris Dodd (D), is planning a trip to the Middle East to conduct what the Hartford Courant calls “his own Middle East peace talks.”

And, he’s bringing John Kerry with him. The two plan to talk to leaders in Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Israel.

The subheadline to the above linked article says, “Kerry to Join Effort in Sensitive Territory.” If it’s sensitivity that Dodd wants, he may want to rethink his choice of traveling partner.

Call me cynical, but I find it somewhat pretentious when two senators, both with presidential ambitions, decide to travel to a highly unstable area of the world with the hopes that perhaps they can succeed where others with more qualifications for such activities have failed.

Oh, you didn’t know Chris Dodd was planning a run for president?

UPDATE at 12/13/06 10:19:24 am:

At roughly the same time Bill Nelson was having his chat with the chinless ophthalmologist in Damascus, Syrian ambassador Imad Moustapha was bashing America at a CAIR-sponsored event at the National Press Club: Syrian Ambassador Slams US at CAIR-Hosted Conference.

(CNSNews.com) - Syria’s ambassador to Washington joined a group of American Muslims Tuesday in calling for the United States to pull its armed forces out of Iraq immediately, blaming America for the violence in that country.

“The Sunni-Shia rift is a direct result of U.S. policies in Iraq — the policies of invasion and occupation,” Syrian Ambassador Imad Moustapha told a meeting at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., hosted by the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), a U.S. Islamic advocacy group.

“The Bush doctrine has miserably and dramatically failed,” Moustapha said.

Turning his attention to the Iraq Study Group’s 79 recommendations for U.S. policy options on Iraq, released last Wednesday, Moustapha said the report contained both “good things” and “not very good things.”

“This is a semi-official admission of the astounding failure of U.S. policies in Iraq in particular, and in the Middle East in general,” said Moustapha.