Merely a week after questionable reports that members of the Democratic Party met with Hamas officials, Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson (Fla.) visited Damascus to speak with Syrian President Bashar Assad. The Associated Press reported December 13 that in spite of State Department disapproval, Senator Nelson arranged for and held talks with the Syrian president. Many see Senator Nelson’s actions as a direct insult to President Bush and the policy that the U.S. have only limited contact with Syria.

Following the Iraq Study Group report’s recommendation of engaging Iran and Syria on the Iraq situation, three other senators are planning trips to Syria. However, White House Press Secretary Tony Snow said, “We don’t think that members of Congress ought to be going there.” In response to charges that his actions were directed at angering the Bush administration, Nelson said, “I have a constitutional role as a member of Congress.”

Ties between the United States and Syria are strained, mostly because, though the U.S. labels Syrian-supported groups Hamas and Hezbollah as terrorist organizations, Syria refuses to cut connections with either of them.

Senator Nelson stated that he thought his visit showed a “crack in the door for discussions to continue,” referring to the U.S. involving Syria in Iraq. However, according to Senator Nelson, the Syrian president showed no support for the release of Israeli soldiers. Rather, the president pointed out how many Syrians the Israelis had imprisoned.

Senator Nelson’s visit to Syria vividly demonstrates the disunity in the U.S. government. While Nelson visited Syria, President Bush decried the abuses of power in Syria.

Visiting a nation with openly opposite aims in the region against established policy is indeed an affront to the president’s administration and the U.S. government. Senator Nelson has sacrificed prudence, decorum, deference to authority and even loyalty to country for the sake of making an overblown statement about his personal distate for the president and the president’s policies.