Will Obama talk to Hamas?
A British newspaper says the president-elect will make a definitive break from Bush's Mideast policy
The Guardian reports that Obama plans clandestine talks with Hamas.
(AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
Barack Obama has change in mind for the Middle East, said Suzanne Goldenberg in Britain's Guardian. The president-elect plans to start clandestine, low-level talks with Hamas, according to sources close to the transition. If that happens, it will "represent a definitive break with the Bush presidency's ostracizing of the group."
Let's hope the Guardian's sources are right, said Christina Siun O'Connell in the blog Firedoglake. "Even a secretive and low-level approach would be a significant step in the right direction." The humanitarian situation for the Palestinians in the battle zone is getting "unbelievably worse" under Israel's new offensive, so a shift to dialogue can't happen fast enough.
It's hard to see how talking to genocidal Jew-haters is going to help anyone, said Robert Spencer in Jihad Watch. It will be hard for a lot of people to swallow—"not just 'neocons.'" And, since the whole plan is now out in the open, it will be impossible for Obama to touch base with Hamas secretly.
Secrecy is crucial, said Eric Trager in Commentary. If the Obama administration can keep any communication with Hamas below the radar, it "might gain leverage vis-a-vis Hamas without granting it diplomatic legitimacy." But if even indirect talks become public, Hamas and other Islamists will be strengthened to the detriment of our allies in the region.
If Israel has learned anything from its military campaign in the Gaza Strip, said Jackson Diehl in The Washington Post, it's that it can't wipe out Hamas "by economic strangulation or force of arms." Now is the time to "to work with a fresh American administration on a smarter and more effective strategy for countering Iran and its clients—one grounded in politics rather than bombs."
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Posted by Elyanna, Friday, January 9, 2009, 4:42 pm I am not convinced that Obama should talk with Hamas. I have to agree that sitting down with Hamas leaders legitimizes the organization, which is not something the US should do. While Israel should not be given a blanket OK for all of their actions I do agree that it was time for Israel to say enough is enough. And all of the civilian deaths of Palestinians that are being reported? A staggering number of them were because Hamas members were using civilians as human shields. An estimated 8000 rockets were launched into Israel, how long after 9/11 did it take for the US to mobilize? And that was just one attack on one city. Israel is roughly the size of Lake Michigan, 8000 rockets did a lot of damage. I deeply believe that Israel is not to blame for the current situation and will be able to accomplish more in regards to checking Iran's power than Bush's administration could have ever hoped to; the US needs to step up and support Israel not only because Israel has every right to exist but because it is fighting the real "war on terror."
Posted by James, Friday, January 9, 2009, 5:14 pm Oh sure, the Zionists are so innocent - just sitting in "their" little neighborhoods (illegal colonies on stolen land occupied for 41 years) while those horrible Hamas troublemakers shoot rockets at them for fun... The Zionists never intended to abide by the 1948 UN mandate. Israelis will argue that the UN has always been anti-Israel. We'll forget that the UN issued a resolution giving 55% of Palestine for a Jewish state in 1947 even though Palestine's Jewish occupants owned less than 10% of the land. How about these memorable quotes? "After we become a strong force as the result of the creation of the state, we shall abolish partition and expand to the whole of Palestine. The state will only be a stage in the realization of Zionism and its task is to prepare the ground for our expansion. The state will have to preserve order - not by preaching but with machine guns." -- First Israeli Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion, 1938. "[The Palestinians are] beasts walking on two legs." –Israeli Prime Minister and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Menachem Begin, speech to the Knesset, quoted in Amnon Kapeliouk, 'Begin and the "Beasts," New Statesman, June 25, 1982.
Posted by Rosanne, Friday, January 9, 2009, 7:45 pm I voted for President-elect Obama BUT if he sits down and talks with OUR ENEMIES (Hamas terrorist organization), then I will call for an impeachment of his presidency!! Obama talking with that terrorist organization would be like a total slap in the face to all those who perished on 9/11, and in other terrorist attacks worldwide.
Posted by A Dewan, Friday, January 9, 2009, 9:46 pm I like the idea of Obama talking to Hamas. Nothing was gained by not talking. Hamas came to power through a free and fair election. How can you not recognize that when preaching democracy in the Middleeas t. Bush's low level intelligence and scornful arrogance has only brought missery for the people all around the world including the US.
Posted by Kam, Saturday, January 10, 2009, 1:23 am What's the confusion? BO personally stated that he would sit down with terrorists leaders without any pre-conditions. He said this on TV and was challenged by Hillary. As per his usual vascillation, he stopped talking about it. As everyone can see now, he is right back at it. With Hillary as secretary of state now she will have to do his dirty work. ......Brian, if you are correct, then the Bush administration has been following your wishes. I certainly hope that there has been no legitimization of the Hamas organization. ...........James, thanks for the quotes, but where is the information that it was the Arabs who attacked Israel in 1948 on the day after Israel's charter to exist was passed. ...........A Dewan, thanks for attacking Bush's intellegence again. Where are your transcripts or BO's for that matter, from Harvard? All we have from BO is his word that he graduated magna cum laude (incidentally magna cum laude is a "B"average; summa cum laude is an "A" average). By the way, did you know that Hitler was elected by the German people without the knowledge of what he really stood for, but rather by what he said he stood for? Just think with a little diplomacy, WW2 could have been avoided according to your beliefs.
Posted by Brett, Saturday, January 10, 2009, 9:20 am Communication is always a good thing.
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