Florida Senator Meets With President Of Syria

Dec. 13 - KGO (KGO) -- President Bush says he won't be rushed. He says he's continuing to study new approaches to the problems in Iraq. Meanwhile, a member of Congress appears to have plans of his own.

The president made his remarks today after meeting with military brass at the Pentagon. The president is now pledging a new strategy that will give American troops all the tools that they will need.

After his meeting at the Pentagon, the president said he wanted to reassure the troops in Iraq.

President George W. Bush: "We're not going to give up. The stakes are too high and the consequences too grave."

The president says it will be January before he's ready to tell the American people what his new strategy in Iraq will be.

In Syria, Florida Senator Bill Nelson isn't waiting. He sat down today with Syria's President Bashar Assad. In a telephone interview, Nelson told me he was taking his cue from the Iraq Study Group which has recommended opening talks with Syria and Iran.

Sen. Bill Nelson, (D) Florida: "In my meeting with Assad, that he agreed that there would be interest on his government's part to close or control the border between the two countries."

Nelson told reporters it was a crack in the door between the U.S. and Syria. The State Department told Senator Nelson not to go and that the government's relations with Syria are set by the State Department and the president.

Abraham Sofaer served for five years as legal advisor to the State Department.

Abraham Sofaer, Hoover Institution: "I mean Kerry and Dodd did the same thing during the Reagan Administration, down in Nicaragua they went down there and we, in fact, I was asked, 'Is there anything we can do legally about that?' and I said, 'No, definitely not.'"

Sofaer is now a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution. He says there's a long tradition of these sorts of freelance diplomatic efforts and there's nothing much wrong with them.

Former Ambassador David Fischer, now at San Francisco State University, takes a little different view.

Ambassador David Fischer, San Francisco State University: "Sure it's got a lot of downsides because essentially what Sen. Nelson wants to do is not influence Dimascus, he wants to influence Washington and he's going to Dimascus in order to change U.S. policy."

Fischer says the fact that Senator Nelson inserted himself in the Syria negotiations indicates the president is losing some control.

Amb. David Fischer: "When you're down to 21 percent popularity for the war, it's difficult to corrale and keep all the ponies in the barn."

Senior Hoover Fellow Sofaer says it doesn't matter the president won't give ground.

Abraham Sofaer: "I think he's staked his reputation on holding firm in the face of what he regards to be the threat of this century."

Both Sofaer and Fischer do agree on one point. They say the Saudis, saying that they will move into Iraq should the United States move out, potentially a very serious situation that could lead to some regional conflict obviously employed by the Saudis to keep the United States in Iraq.

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