Nancy Pelosi defied President Bush and talked to Syrian president Bashar al-Assad Wednesday.

To opponents of Pelosi, this seems like an underhanded move to circumvent the president’s authority. In truth, it is not.

Rather, it is a bold move toward rectifying years of poor foreign relations on the part of the United States. We are often seen abroad as bullies, pushing our values on others. It is important to consider the source of these feelings, even though we may not accept them.

We don’t have to agree with our enemies, but there need to be open lines of communication so we can solve our conflicts without resorting to war.

Diplomatic relations are important. Countries don’t have to agree; they just have to co-exist.

A recent potential calamity in the Middle East was avoided by willingness to work with an enemy.

The Iranian capture of 15 British soldiers recently scared many into the fear that another war was near.

Though enemies, Iran and England were able to avoid letting a minor incident become a major conflict. Placed in a similar situation, the United States may not have avoided a conflict. Pelosi’s visit is a positive step in this direction. Because of the alleged Syrian state sponsorship terrorism, the Bush administration wants to alienate the Syrians.

This alienation method of diplomacy does not and has not worked in the past.

We need to branch out to talk to countries where we have slammed shut the doors of communication. The Bush administration has made that their agenda these past seven years – now a new Democratic Congress has the perfect opportunity to extend a different hand in cooperation.

President Bush seems to adhere to Machiavellian principles on most of his policies, but I think he needs to reread the part about where to keep your enemies.