Pelosi Syria trip part of foreign policy push

By Susan Cornwell

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi's decision to defy the White House and meet Syrian President Bashar al-Assad steps up a tug-of-war between Democrats and President George W. Bush over foreign policy.

Despite Bush's admonitions that the talks were "counterproductive" and sent "mixed signals," Pelosi on Wednesday sat down with Assad, accused by Washington of backing terrorism and adding to Middle East instability.

Newly empowered Democrats, already doing battle with Bush over who really is the "decider" on Iraq policy, are taking a more assertive role on foreign policy.

Believing voters gave them control of Congress in November based on their opposition to the Iraq war, Democrats are trying to force Bush to accept a date for withdrawing U.S. troops.

Polls are on their side. A Newsweek survey released last weekend showed 57 percent of Americans support the Democrats' plan to begin pulling out combat forces, with 36 percent rejecting it.

But critics worry that Congress is overreaching.

"Our president is commander-in-chief of the armed forces, we are at war in Iraq, and if the speaker or other members are meeting with a nation that may be supporting our opponents in the war, that is inappropriate," said Brian Darling, a congressional analyst at the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank in Washington.

"It is Condoleezza Rice's job to be our secretary of state and head diplomat, not the speaker of the House," he said.