Carter embraces Islamic Hamas official in West Bank

Wednesday 16th April, 02:55 AM JST

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6 Comments

Zaphod at 11:59 AM JST - 16th April

Jimmy Carter is a disgrace to humankind.
redacted at 01:10 PM JST - 16th April

"Carter embraces Islamic Hamas official in West Bank"

He "lusts in his heart" after these nutjobs.

What an embarrassment. How could any self-respecting American vote democrat after that party gave this hateful old buffoon and self-appointed President-for-Life the seat of honor at their '04 convention?
Helter_Skelter at 01:21 PM JST - 16th April

Carter says the U.S. and Israel should stop isolating the militant Islamic group

He acts as if stupidity were a virtue.
notimpressed at 01:41 PM JST - 16th April

I guess some people would rather hurl rockets and gunfire and keep fighting indefinately, broadening the divides between two sides, while others seek to bridge the gap and find alternatives to bloodshed.
skipthesong at 06:23 PM JST - 16th April

notimpressed: good point, but "But he says isolating Hamas is counterproductive" What do you or does anyone think he can do something where so many others have failed?

Also, "“The official Hamas position until this day is that it won’t negotiate with Israel or recognize it under any circumstance,” Israeli Foreign Ministry official Yigal Palmor said. “Jimmy Carter has dignified this position with his presence, and one cannot but wonder how this attitude is supposed to promote peace and understanding.” I have always known that Southerners don't like Jews.
Farmboy at 07:01 PM JST - 16th April

The title of this AP article is deliberately designed to get people angry. You embrace people to greet them in the Middle East, as is noted later in the article. This kind of headline is all about selling papers, and was probably tacked on by someone other than the author of the article.

I don't know if Carter's being there will do any good, but I don't see that what has been done up to now has been all that effective. The Israelis basically think of Hamas members as murderers, with the general philosphy being, "If you see one of these guys, shoot him." Hamas members view Israelis in similar glowing terms.

I suspect Carter is wasting his time, but since the alternative to talking is killing, what's the problem with talking? Even if you like the killing idea, Hamas isn't strong enough to take on Israel for any length of time, and Israel can't bomb Hamas out of existence without a lot of innocent victims and international disapproval. So the alternative to talking is to take potshots at each other for all the generations to come...not such a cheery prospect either.