1.  Why did Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi meet with President Bashar Assad of Syria this week?

2.  a) What message did Rep. Pelosi give President Assad from Israel?
b)  How did Israeli Prime Minister Olmert react upon hearing that Ms. Pelosi had given that message to President Assad?

3.  a) What did Mr. Olmert actually say, when asked by Ms. Pelosi previous to her trip if she could pass on a message to Assad?
b) Why do you think Speaker Pelosi gave the wrong message to President Assad?

4.  a) Why has Israel rejected Syria's move toward peace negotiations?  Be specific.
b) List the measures Syria needs to take to prove to Israel that they are serious about peace.

5.  What did Prime Minister Olmert tell Ms. Pelosi about her trip to Syria?

6.  How is the Bush administration dealing with Syria? 

7.  Speaker Pelosi went to Syria despite being asked by the Bush administration not to go. 
--President Bush said it would be "counterproductive," that "Photo opportunities and/or meetings with President Assad lead the Assad government to believe they're part of the mainstream of the international community, when, in fact, they're a state sponsor of terror." 
--State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said "In our view, it is not the right time to have these sort of high-profile visitors to Syria."
--White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said the speaker "should take a step back and think about the message that it sends." She added: "This is a country that is a state sponsor of terror, one that is trying to disrupt the Saniora government in Lebanon and one that is allowing foreign fighters to flow into Iraq from its borders." (Fuad Saniora is prime minister of Lebanon.)
Speaker Pelosi went to Syria in an attempt to open direct dialogue with President Assad.  Do you support her decision to ignore the President's request and attempt to establish diplomatic relations without the backing of the President or the State Department?  Explain your answer.