Pelosi - whose job as speaker places her "just two heartbeats away from the presidency," meaning that if both the president and vice president were to become incapacitated, she would become president - will head a congressional delegation .

The congressional delegation that accompanies the Speaker includes:

Congressman, Democrat Keith Ellison from Minnesota- US 's first Muslim congressman.
Congressman, Democrat Nick Rahall from West Virginia, is of Lebanese descent
Congressman , Democrat Tom Lantos from California who is Jewish is chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee
Congressman , Democrat Henry Waxman from California who is also Jewish
Congressman , Republican David Hobson from Ohio

Congressman Rahall was active last summer in trying to end the war between Hezbollah & Israel. He also came out against a bipartisan congressional resolution in July 2006 supporting Israel during the Second Lebanon War. During the war he wrote a letter to President George W. Bush calling on him to tell Prime Minister Ehud Olmert "that enough is enough. It is time for the disproportionate use of violence to end and for negotiations to begin."

The exact date of Pelosi arrival into Beirut has not been announced as of yet , most probably for security reasons .

Pelosi, who is a Democrat from the state of California, will meet with Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and other officials in the Lebanese government.

Pelosi's visit is aimed at becoming better acquainted with regional issues in addition to discussing U.S. aid programs in Lebanon and other countries.

According to some reports the White House tried to convince Pelosi to cancel her stopover in Syria. But when it failed to do so, it urged the delegation to send a "strong message" to the Assad regime about the human rights situation there and the country's interference in Lebanon's internal affairs.

The white house was told not to worry since Lantos, who has met several times with Syrian President Bashar Assad in the past, is known for his strong views against the Damascus regime.