Groups welcome Pelosi trip to Mideast, The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) this week welcomed Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi's efforts on her recent trip to the Middle East. Specifically, the nation's largest Arab-American grassroots organization said it viewed Speaker Pelosi's recent trip to Syria, Israel and Saudi Arabia as proactive steps in engaging in dialogue with key players in the Middle East that is vital to achieving peace in the area and securing the long-term national interests of the United States.

Pelosi's trip to Syria was only one of several trips to Syria by Republican and Democratic members of Congress in recent months. These trips come following the recommendation of the bipartisan Iraq Study Group report that recommended U.S. diplomatic engagement with both Syria and Iran. ADC said it was encouraged by Speaker Pelosi's statement, "We came in friendship, hope and determined that the road to Damascus is a road to peace."

Pelosi's delegation also included Reps. Keith Ellison (D-MN), Nick J. Rahall II (D-WV), Louise M. Slaughter (D-N.Y.), Henry A. Waxman (D-CA.), David L. Hobson (R-OH), and Tom Lantos (D-CA). Rep Lantos, Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said, "The meeting reinforced sharply the potential benefits of talking to Syria. This is only the beginning of our constructive dialogue with Syria and we hope to build on this visit."

Pelosi met Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian president, on Wednesday and conveyed a message from Ehud Olmert, the Israeli premier, that Israel was ready for peace talks.

She said al-Assad responded that he was ready to restart peace talks too.

"[Our] meeting with the president enabled us to communicate a message from Prime Minister Olmert that Israel was ready to engage in peace talks," Pelosi said. Olmert later denied the assertion.

She added that al-Assad "was ready to engage in negotiations [for] peace with Israel".

The White House criticized Pelosi's visit as undermining U.S. efforts to isolate Syria.

Syria's official news agency quoted al-Assadas telling Pelosi: "Syria has adopted the Arab initiative. Its strategic choice is peace."

A spokesman for the White House national security council called the visit "counterproductive." Pelosi said she and other members of her congressional delegation told al-Assad their concerns about fighters crossing from Syria into Iraq.

The house speaker also said she had spoken to the president about Israeli soldiers captured by the Lebanese group Hizbullah and Palestinian groups.

Democrats have argued that the U.S. should engage with its rivals in the region — Iran and Syria — to make headway in easing theproblems in Iraq, Lebanon and the Israeli-Arab peace process.

On the West Coast, the San Francisco-Bay Area chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relatios said:

"We applaud Speaker Pelosi's initiative to use constructive dialogue as a tool for resolving conflicts. America's stature in the Islamic world has been harmed by the Bush administration's emphasis on the use of military force, or the threat of force, rather than dialogue and diplomacy. Speaker Pelosi's visit to the Middle East is a vital step forward in both improving our nation's international image and building better relations with important nations in that volatile region.

"In particular, Speaker Pelosi's visit to the Umayyad mosque in Damascus will contribute greatly to promoting mutual understanding between the West and the Muslim world. It is through mutual understanding that religious divisions and extremism can be challenged and reduced.

"We urge President Bush to implement the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group by working with Congress and Speaker Pelosi to formulate a new strategy that focuses on diplomacy and dialogue, not military force and belligerent rhetoric."

CAIR-SFBA also commended other Democratic and Republican members of Congress who are making similar visits to the region.

Pelosi shrugs off White House criticism, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, left, smiles as she listens to Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri in his home, in Beirut, Lebanon Monday, April 2, 2007. Pelosi met with Lebanese officials Monday on a stop in Beirut as part of a fact-finding trip to the Middle East that has drawn criticism from the White House because it includes a visit to neighboring Syria. - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Monday shrugged off White House criticism of her upcoming trip to Damascus, saying she had "great hope" for reviving U.S. relations with Syria and changing its behavior.

Speaking hours after arriving in Lebanon, Pelosi indicated the Bush administration was singling out her trip to Syria, but ignoring the recent visits by Republican members of Congress.

"It's interesting because three of our colleagues, who are all Republicans, were in Syria yesterday and I didn't hear the White House speaking out about that," Pelosi said, referring to the Sunday meeting of Reps. Frank Wolf, Joe Pitts and Robert Aderholt with Syrian President Bashar Assad in Damascus.

"I think that it was an excellent idea for them to go," said Pelosi, who is to meet Syrian leaders Wednesday. "And I think it's an excellent idea for us to go, as well."

In Washington, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino stressed Monday that the Bush administration objects to all visits to Syria.

"We ask that people not go on these trips," she said. "We discourage it. Full stop."

The United States has poor relations with Syria, accusing it of interfering in Iraq and Lebanon and sponsoring terrorists - charges that Damascus denies. Perino last week described Pelosi's visit to Syria as a "really bad idea."

Last year, a bipartisan commission known as the Iraq Study Group recommended the U.S. launch a new diplomatic initiative with Syria and Iran. The Bush administration rejected the idea, but the U.S. did participate in a regional security conference in Baghdad last month that also included representatives from Iran and Syria.



Perino said it "sends the wrong message to have high-level U.S. officials going there (to Syria) to have photo opportunities that Assad then exploits."
But Pelosi said she thinks it's a good idea to "establish facts, to hopefully build the confidence" between the U.S. and Syria.

"We have no illusions, but we have great hope," she said.

In Damascus, a state-run newspaper welcomed Pelosi's visit, saying that through dialogue "a lot of misunderstandings (with the United States) could be removed."

Pelosi, who is leading a congressional delegation on a fact-finding tour of the Middle East, said she would speak to the Syrians about Iraq, their role in the fight against terrorism, their support for militant groups such as Lebanon's Hezbollah and the Palestinian Hamas - whose exiled leaders live in Damascus - as well their influence in Lebanon.

Washington has accused Damascus of not doing enough to stop militants from crossing the Syrian-Iraqi border to join the Iraqi insurgency and stoking tensions in Lebanon.

A member of the delegation, Rep. Tom Lantos, a Democrat from California, said the group had no illusions about their visit to Damascus.

"We are going with the clear intention of making our position crystal clear to the Syrian leadership, basically indicating that it is in their interest to return to a position where they can be part of the positive forces in this region and not be in tight alliance with Ahmedinejad's Iran," Lantos said, referring to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Pelosi and Lantos spoke after talks with Saad Hariri, the leader of the Lebanon's parliamentary majority, which is opposed to Syria. He is the son of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, who was assassinated in a car bombing two years ago - an attack many Lebanese blame on Syria. Damascus has denied a role in the killing.

Pelosi also paid her respects at Rafik Hariri's grave in Beirut.

Lebanon is embroiled in a power struggle between the Western-backed Prime Minister Fuad Saniora and the Hezbollah-led opposition, which is trying to bring down the government through boycotts and demonstrations.

Pelosi met with Saniora and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a major figure in the Hezbollah-led opposition. Hezbollah is considered a terrorist organization by the United States.

Lebanon's anti-Syrian leaders are wary of better relations between Syria and the West, fearing they could weaken efforts to end the Syrian influence in the country, which remains significant two years after the withdrawal of the Syrian army.

US firms in race to snap up foreign visasm ,Published: 01 April 2007 ,Employers across the US are this weekend scrambling to apply for the limited number of visas for foreign employees amid a skills shortage that Silicon Valley bosses say threatens America's future competitiveness.

The annual quota of 85,000 visas for new skilled, temporary workers - so-called H1B visas - is expected to be filled in record time, perhaps within days, according to some estimates.

The shortage is the subject of an intensive lobbying campaign on Capitol Hill by technology companies, and last month the Microsoft founder Bill Gates told law makers to dramatically raise or even scrap the annual cap.

New visas for the fiscal year starting in October are expected to be fully allocated well before the year even begins, for the fourth time in a row, since Congress more than halved the quota in 2003. Since then, business lobbying for a reversal has been complicated by growing public complaints that foreign workers are taking American jobs.

The quota was fully allocated by August in 2005 and by May last year, and increasingly desperate employers are learning that they must apply ever earlier.

"Hitting the cap this early creates a situation in which foreign students graduating from US universities this spring are virtually shut out of the US job market," said Robert Hoffman, an executive at the software firm Oracle and co-chair of the tech industry lobby group Compete America.

Irwin Mark Jacobs, chairman of Qualcomm, the wireless technology company, said: "Our immigration system for highly educated workers is falling apart just when talented knowledge workers have more choices than ever with competing companies in Europe and Asia."

In 2004, the last year for which figures are available, Britons accounted for 5,617 of the 124,096 H1Bs issued, which included renewals of expiring visas. India accounts for the largest number of skilled temporary workers.

Palestinians under Arab pressure to meet demands, Jordan’s King Abdullah said in an interview broadcast on Saturday there was broad Arab agreement that a Palestinian unity government must adhere to the demands of the Quartet of Middle East mediators.

The King’s comments on Israeli television were the first from an Arab leader to cast doubt on the willingness of major Arab donors to sidestep a U.S.-led embargo of the Hamas-led government. Those sanctions seek to induce Hamas to recognise Israel, renounce violence and accept interim peace deals.

Since the unity government agreement was signed in Mecca earlier this month, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah and Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal have been lobbying Arab and European countries to lift the economic embargo, which has pushed the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority to the brink of financial collapse and increased poverty among the people.
After meeting French President Jacques Chirac in Paris on Saturday, Abbas said he was encouraged by the "wait and see" approach taken by the Quartet, comprised of the United States, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations.

"We hope that the embargo will be lifted ... If the situation were to continue as it currently is, the Palestinian people would suffer," Abbas said.

Continuing violence underlined the urgent need for a settlement. Four Palestinians were killed in clashes between rival clans in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, though both sides said the fighting was not motivated by political rivalries.

Speaking in Khartoum, Meshaal said: "The U.S. administration has no choice but to respect the will of the Palestinians and the Arab support for the Palestinian accord."

But King Abdullah, in an interview with Israel’s Channel 2 television, said he understood Israeli concerns that the power-sharing deal fails to meet the Quartet’s demands.

Without security, Iraq will not achieve progress,Howard pleads for more time on Iraq
Staged pullout from Iraq a priority ,I am well aware of the sharp political differences that exist over Iraq. I am not asking Australians to discount the enormous difficulties or to change their views about the original decision. I am asking them to consider the situation we now face and the stakes involved.

What Iraq and its people need now is time, not a timetable; our patience, not political positioning. They require our resolve, not our retreat.

The long war against violent Islamic extremism goes on. Terrorist cells are active today in between 30 and 40 countries, plotting action based on a warped interpretation of Islam. Attacks have been planned in Australia.

Roughly 2000 Australians are part of operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.

It is just over four years since the commitment of Australian forces to the US-led military operation in Iraq. This was one of the most difficult and contentious decisions this Government has taken.

There have been setbacks and mistakes. The loss of life and injuries are tragic. But I hope critics of our involvement recognise the need to honour our obligations to the Iraqis and to help them towards a more stable future.

Iraqis want the same things we look for in our own lives - safety for their families, a chance to earn a living and a say in how they are governed.

Security is the precondition for political and economic progress. That's why the international community must stay in Iraq. What the Iraqi people need most is our sticking power in their midst. I do not want our forces in Iraq one day longer than necessary. But to signal our departure now would be against Australia's national interest.

The stakes are high - for Iraq, for the wider Middle East, for American power and prestige and, ultimately, for our region and national security.

Ironically, last year the Government was castigated by the Opposition for placing our troops in a dangerous and worsening security environment in Iraq. Then, the critique shifted. Our troops were themselves exacerbating the situation. Now we are being told by the Opposition that the southern provinces of Iraq are not dangerous enough to justify Australia's presence.

If it's bad, our troops shouldn't be there. If it's good, our troops shouldn't be there. When has a political party made so many worthless speeches about internationalism and "good international citizenship" and done so little to support it?

A timetable for the premature withdrawal of coalition forces from Iraq would invite disastrous strategic and humanitarian consequences.