Arlen Specter responds in the Philadelphia Inquirer to my op-ed last week questioning the wisdom of his recent trip to Syria. He is unconvincing. It’s nice that Assad promised to stop terrorists infiltrating from Syria into Iraq. This is the same promise which Assad made to Colin Powell back in 2003. And 2004. And to Rice in 2005. Assad’s promises are manna for the gullible. It’s nice to repeat warnings. He could have done so from the Senate floor. Specter’s latest trip legitimized Assad and rewarded both Assad’s assassinations of moderates in Lebanon and his supply of Hezbollah. While Specter believes his 1990s-era diplomacy to have succeeded, he appears unaware of the corrosive effect Assad’s support for terrorism had. Senate statements and Syrian praise are not good metrics of success. And in praising himself, Specter omits his “diplomacy” with Saddam Hussein. Upon returning from Iraq, Specter’s worked to prevent a military and dual use embargo on the Iraqi dictator. Saddam was a man of peace, Specter believed. After all, Saddam told him so. A few months later, Saddam invaded Kuwait. Note to Specter: Sometimes, the praise of third-world dictatorships and terror-sponsoring regimes is not such a good thing. Back in 1988 when Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi endorsed Michael Dukakis, even Dukakis was wise enough not to brag about it.