Sen Kerry off to the Middle East on this Senate break

[TayTay]

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5j8XRMo8LwXRdFa1vod7euRS85tHQD96AUQT01">From the AP:

Senate Foreign Relations Chairman John Kerry, D-Mass., is off to Syria, Egypt, Jordan, Israel and Lebanon.

Snip

Kerry's aides, for example, are quick to clarify that he will not take the role of emissary for the Obama administration in his expected talks with Syrian President Bashar Assad. But the trip comes as President Barack Obama looks for a way to repair the U.S. image abroad and engage regimes hostile to U.S. policies.

Syrian-U.S. relations deteriorated sharply during former President George W. Bush's administration, which accused Syria of allowing foreign fighters to cross its border into Iraq. Syria denied doing so, while saying it was impossible to control the extensive desert border between the two countries.

[TayTay]

1. Politico report adds a stop

Meanwhile, Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) will vote and run -- so he can get on a plane to the Middle East. Kerry will be visiting: Egypt, Israel, Palestinian Territories, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.

http://www.politico.com/blogs/glennthrush/0209/White_House_books_Browns_flight_to_DC.html

[TayTay]

2. News on the Jordan visit

Washington moves toward dialogue with Damascus

WASHINGTON (AFP) — The United States has opened the door to a dialogue with Syria with a visit to Damascus by a high-ranking congressional delegation and the lifting of certain sanctions, even while firmly insisting on its continued support for Lebanon.

Senator John Kerry, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, will travel to Syria next week as part of a tour of the Middle East, his spokesman Frederick Jones said.

Kerry, the Democratic presidential candidate in 2004, is expected to meet with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. According to the Wall Street Journal, Kerry will be accompanied by Howard Berman, his counterpart in the House of Representatives.

The delegation will not officially represent President Barack Obama, but it could open the way for later contacts with the Syrians on the part of administration officials.

Kerry met with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Thursday morning over breakfast, presumably to discuss the upcoming trip to Damascus, State Department spokesman Robert Wood said.

From: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5ik5o-20D5eRgpwQXENpIJGQboOSQ