A U.S. delegation headed by Representative Darrell Issa, met with Syrian President Bashar Assad a day after U.S. Speaker of The House Nancy Pelosi held meetings with the Syrian President.

The 3 person delegation headed by Mr. Issa, who is of Lebanese decent, covered a variety of issues important to the region, such as security and how Syria can be of assistance regarding the U.S-led war in Iraq.

These meetings have all been objected by the White House and President Bush.

When Mr. Issa was asked why the White House has criticized these meetings, he said: "President Bush is the head of state, but he hasn't encouraged dialogue. That's an important message to realize: we have tensions, but we have two functioning embassies."

Congressional Democrats and many Republicans have criticized Bush for closing the doors on dialogue between the two countries.

Since full details of the topics covered remain unclear, it has become evident that both Ms. Pelosi and Mr. Issa have taken their own initiative in improving U.S. foreign policy in areas where President Bush and the White House have failed.

Ms. Pelosi and Mr. Issa have both iterated that Congress will continue to have dialogue with Syria and its officials, stating that they are first on a fact-finding mission which they hope will lead to bilateral relations with Syria.

HKT/DB