Syrian President, First Lady Praise Obama

DAMASCUS, Syria — Syria's leader praised President Barack Obama's outreach for dialogue and invited him to visit Damascus in remarks released Friday just days after the United States said it plans to return its ambassador to Syria after a four year absence.

Syrian President Bashar Assad comments came in a telegram he sent to Obama on the occasion of the July 4 Independence Day and in an interview he gave to Britain's Sky News.

Also on Sky News, Syria's First Lady Asma al Assad said she envisioned her husband, Bashar, and Barack Obama joining forces.

"The fact is President Obama is young," al Assad said, "and President Assad is also very young as well, so maybe it is time for these young leaders to make a difference in the world."

President Assad's comments also come a month after Obama outlined in a historic speech in Egypt his determination to broker peace among Israel and its Arab neighbors and improve U.S. relations in the region.

"The values that were adopted by President Obama during his election campaign and after he was elected president are values that the world needs today," Assad said in the telegram that was carried by state-run news agency SANA.

"It is very important to adopt the principle of dialogue in relations with countries based on respect and mutual interest," Assad said.

In June, U.S Mideast envoy George Mitchell visited Damascus and met Assad in the highest visit by a U.S. official in more than four years. Mitchell's visit followed two separate trips in the past few months by senior U.S. officials Jeffrey Feltman, acting assistant secretary of state, and Daniel Shapiro, a Middle East expert at the White House.

The Obama administration hopes the diplomatic outreach will encourage Syria to play a positive role in both the Mideast peace process and also in Iraq.

In an interview with Sky News, Assad invited Obama to visit Damascus in order to discuss Mideast peace.

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"We would like to welcome him (Obama) in Syria, definitely. I am very clear about this," Assad said in English. Asked whether such a visit could take place soon, Assad said: "That depends on him."

He added with a smile, "I will ask you to convey the invitation to him."

The Obama administration has stepped up pressure on Arab countries to help resume Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and pursue a peace deal with the Jewish state themselves. Syria is seen as a key player in this process because of its support for the Palestinian militant group Hamas that controls the Gaza Strip and its intermittent peace talks with Israel.

Syria held four rounds of indirect talks with Israel last year, mediated by Turkey. But the discussions were halted during the Israeli offensive on Gaza in December and January.

Last week, Presidential spokesman Robert Gibbs said Obama's plans to send back an ambassador to Syria.

The U.S. withdrew its ambassador to Syria in 2005 after the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Some Lebanese politicians blamed Syria for the assassination, a claim that Damascus denies.

The U.S. also has accused Syria of not doing enough to stop the infiltration of militants to fight U.S. and allied forces in neighboring Iraq.

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Associated Press writer Bassem Mroue in Beirut contributed to this report.

Comments

[wdw505]

who cares what a Syrian has to say

[Paula Ann]

every person who has the good fortune to have a doctor from Syria

[Alcove-One]

a doctor who now lives in the states and not syria?

[Peace4Allnotsome]

wdw, it's nice to know that you're way to celebrate the fourth is to show off your ignorance and racism. And yes, it's both.

[Peace4Allnotsome]

your*

[wdw505]

racism? i was referencing a third world country

[HelloFunnyWorld]

The World does, obviously, or she would'nt be on HuffPost, right..?

[Chopin]

wdw505, you sound a bit iincoherent here. If you have read nothing interesting, and have nothing intelligent to say, then why did you bother reading this post and contribute nothing worthwhile with your dum comment?

[Okieborn]

I would enjoy meeting her !!
What a beauty !!!

[wdw505]

why?

[jcko]

Young, smart, London raised & educated. ....a good brige builder between the west & Middle East.

[StJames]

Hallelujah! Another ray of sunlight. Dawn just may arrive in the middle east. I hope this administration can pull it off.

[Alcove-One]

A dictaror likes me...he really likes me.

[Congressman Ed]

What??? What's a dictaror dude?

[Alcove-One]

That's more sunlight than a political prisoner in Syria gets.

[Trueheart]

Why not a picture of Syria's First Couple?
We are so wierd. As soon as some people see a pretty face, that becomes more important than the actual story. I guess we can't help judging a book by its cover.

[Congressman Ed]

Because the article was about her. Google Bashar al-Assad for plenty of pictures of him.

[Ergon]

The article was about Bashar al- Assad AND Asma. But I get your point.

[jcko]

True.

That's why we got Sarah.

[Todd Sullivan]

well, look: she is a *very* attractive woman (or this is just a really good picture of her). i think making crude sexual jokes about her is immature, but i prefer that to her husband forcing her to wear a veil. the crude jokes hurt no one except the credibility of the person making them; the veil demeans her as an independent human living as freely in the world as her male counterpart.

[Paula Ann]

She is probably Aliwite like her husband, not Muslim. Aliwis don't cover traditionally.

[jcko]

Thanks for the info.

See how ignorant we are about the rest of the world.

[Alcove-One]

"making crude sexual jokes about her is immature"
I'll keep that in mind when reading the Palin thread.
I'll be happy to make crude jokes for everyone in Syria who would be arrested if they did it there.

[sageres]

Tell them to stop supporting terrorists and stop building nukes!

[jcko]

Give them a reason to.

[Doomestic]

Maybe when the US stops supporting Israeli state terrorism that massacred 1400 people mostly civilians earlier this very year, they will have a reason to.

[Alcove-One]

The Syrian First Lady's father-in-law killed 20,000 people in Hama, Syria in 1982.
Didn't know that did you? Thought not.

[sageres]

they think that by courting obama, Usa will help them strip off Israel off not just Golans but Kineret. Big mistake, no matter what's going on in DC, they will never get that land. tell them to stop sponsoring terrorists and building nukes. until then (which will never happened obviously), they will always be the sheates of the MiddleEast.

[Doomestic]

What the hell is "Sheates"? If it is Shia sect you mean, syrians are far from being that. They aren't building nukes, unlike Israel that keeps 200 nukes ready against any Arab State.

[Congressman Ed]

WHAT????

[Academic]

I was brought up to believe that politics were meant to be a positive way of helping to change the world. It seems now that celebrity status has replaced the raison d’être of politics.

Would the leader of Syria and his wife have wanted to meet John McCain and his missus in the same way? I doubt it. In the meantime the people of the Middle East as well as the United States are being ill-served by people who are reminiscent of the Emperor's New Clothes.

There's nothing there but those looking on can't seem to see that, so caught up are they in the hype of mass delusion.

Professor Dr. Stanley Collymore.

[Gretel1or2]

This is a not-so-subtle jab at Obama being a "celebrity." For a professor, you should have the intelligence to be able to appreciate a fellow intellectual instead of parroting Republican talking points.

[BossBabe]

Well, if McCain as president reached out to the Syrians the way Obama has, I'm sure they would. Only problem is, McCain would not have chosen that route. So, here we have exactly what you want but just can't seem to accept... politics affecting the world in a positive way.

[barackobama4prez]

During the campaign, John McCain didn't realize Spain was an ally. That says everything we need to know about what he'd do on foreign affairs.

[sageres]

And Obamamama wanted to bomb Pakistan ... Oh wait, he is precisely doing that! Oh wait, he did not stop bombing innocent villages until the entire Swat became Taliban and Pakistan is in the verge of becoming a Sharia state! Good Job Obama!

[Alcove-One]

Obama said we have 57 states.

[Alcove-One]

Biden thought FDR was on TV for the 1929 crash.

[Pema]

the syrians would not meet johm mc cain the same because he thinks syria is evil. if your a professor i am an opera singer..

[Congressman Ed]

The first lady of Syria, yes Syria, is inviting the American President and his wife to visit Syria; and you somehow view this as negative. And no, I don't believe that she would have invited Senator McCain. If President Obama can use his "celebrity status" to improve dialogue with nations in the Middle East, so be it.

I'm not a professor.

[bensisco]

Has anyone noticed how hot so many of the world's first ladies are these days?

[jcko]

The leaders are getting younger, too.....our Prez, King of Jordon,.......even this generation of leaders in China.

As soon as more old farts like me retire,
the world would be run by a generation carrying a lot less hate luggages.

[Haitiana4Obama]

And we have one of the most graceful and intelligent one as well. These women are not just eye candy, they at smart, and especially in the Muslim world daring leaders. It's like the world is coming full circle after the harsh devastation of the last 8 years. Syria's first lady is beautiful though..

[Alcove-One]

Very beautiful. The tyrant wore Prada.

[Alcove-One]

I an sure they married rich powerful men for love.

[Gretel1or2]

No, we are just being made more aware of them now. Since Michelle Obama became first lady, the media seems to have taken a renewed interest where first ladies are concerned.

[grammargirl]

WARNING: The trolls are here -- in droves, making disrespectful and tasteless comments about the Syrian First Lady.

[Congressman Ed]

Thanks for the warning.

[Alcove-One]

Thanks...I'll keep a look out. The crime mol must be respected.

[brynnrose thorn]

You poor thing, bless your heart.

[jason007thomas]

WOW!!! Obama changing Syrian outlook on the world that's huge and might be a strong ace in the whole when it comes to dealing with Israel and Gaza (and puts pressure on Iran by alienating them as the dead weight to the progress of Mideast peace and change)

[newyorkid]

0bama is not going to make a difference. Even the NYT knows.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/12/opinion/12cohen.html?_r=1&ref=opinion

[Congressman Ed]

Please don't post links to opinion articles as if they are facts. Also, please start your sentences with "in my opinion" when your posts contain no facts.

[Gretel1or2]

Exactly. Since when is an opinion piece in the NYT the gold standard of what is to be?

[Egalitare]

Good rule of thumb at all times.

[Paula Ann]

There are many complimentary comments on how nice Syria's 1st Lady looks, cool.......
however the overtly sexual ones are disgusting. Funny, you say?
How funny would they be if they were about :
YOUR wife?
YOUR sister?
YOUR mother?
YOUR daughter?
By focusing on the superficial, the content of the story is lost.

[HelloFunnyWorld]

So nice to wake up to some thing this sweet N happy on HuffPost - Syria's First Lady and we did'nt even know they had one lol.... how remiss of us, eh....

But how come CNN never interviewed her before?

Yes, hopefully, Mr.Obama will be permitted to make Peace in the Middle East that he quite obviously believes is the Right thing to do and hopefully, the wealthy Corporate ruling class will not turn her into a mouth piece for themselves.

We shall look forward to more articles on Syria. Our knowledge is sadly inadequate here.

[rzan1]

I hope we do hear more from her and her husband. Our knowedge is indeed inadequate with regard to Syria.

[norman60]

This is another triumph of Obama diplomacy. I hope President Assad will work with him to move the Middle East process forward.