Assad chooses soccer over Pelosi

From the Washington Post ("As any diplomat with knowledge of the region could have told Ms. Pelosi, Mr. Assad is a corrupt thug whose overriding priority at the moment is not peace with Israel but heading off U.N. charges that he orchestrated the murder of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq al-Hariri...Ms. Pelosi's attempt to establish a shadow presidency is not only counterproductive, it is foolish."), to the Syrian Reform Party ("Assad could not have been happier because Syrian women, seeing a US official confirming what their husbands, the Imams in the Mosques tell them, and the society at large imposes on them through peer pressure will see in her wearing a Hijab as a confirmation of the societal pressures they are constantly under. No one will ever know how many women took the Hijab on after seeing Pelosi wearing it. The damage Speaker Pelosi is causing with her visit to Syria will be felt for many years to come."), much has already been written about Pelosi's shameful "photo-ops with dictators" tour of the Middle East. We have one tidbit to add, via the excellent MEMRIBlog: Assad letting Pelosi know exactly where she ranks in his order of priorities: "It is not possible. I cannot meet you today. I have a very important guest from Turkey; and tonight we will watch together a soccer game. I cannot come to Damascus before he leaves. We may meet tomorrow."