Carter: "The problem is not that I met with Hamas in Syria. The problem is..."

[seafan]

"...that Israel and the United States refuse to meet with someone who must be involved."



Carter: Hamas is willing to accept Israel as its neighbor

April 21, 2008

.....

The Democratic former president spoke in Jerusalem after meeting last week with top Hamas leader, Khaled Mashaal, and his deputy in Syria. It capped a nine-day visit to the Mideast aimed at breaking the deadlock between Israel and Hamas militants who rule the Gaza Strip.

"They (Hamas) said that they would accept a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders, if approved by Palestinians and that they would accept the right of Israel to live as a neighbor next door in peace," Carter said.

In Damascus, Mashaal said Hamas was offering Israel a 10-year truce if it withdraws from all lands it seized in the 1967 war.

.....

The warrior princess speaks:







Rice says Carter was warned against meeting with Hamas

April 22, 2008

KUWAIT CITY - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Tuesday the Bush administration explicitly warned former President Jimmy Carter against meeting with members of Hamas, the Palestinian faction that controls the Gaza Strip and which is regarded by the U.S. as a terror group.

Rice, attending a regional meeting on Iraq's security and future, contradicted Carter's assertions that he never got a clear signal from the State Department. Rice told reporters that the U.S. thought the visit could confuse the message that the U.S. will not deal with Hamas.

"I just don't want there to be any confusion," Rice said. "The United States is not going to deal with Hamas and we had certainly told President Carter that we did not think meeting with Hamas was going to help" further a political settlement between Israel and the Palestinians.

.....

And the Queen warmonger speaks:





http://abcnews.go.com/WN/Vote2008/story?id=4698059&page=1">ABC News

By Jake Tapper
April 22, 2008

.....Clinton further displayed tough talk in an interview airing on "Good Morning America" Tuesday. ABC News' Chris Cuomo asked Clinton what she would do if Iran attacked Israel with nuclear weapons.

"I want the Iranians to know that if I'm the president, we will attack Iran," Clinton said. "In the next 10 years, during which they might foolishly consider launching an attack on Israel, we would be able to totally obliterate them."

And Granddaddy Warmonger slapsticks his way past the disgraceful media:


McCain's "Bomb Iran" Joke Draws Fire, CNN





McCain laughs, sings Bomb Iran, YouTube




Pennsylvanians, you have in your hands tremendous power today.

[gratuitous]

1. Carter, as usual, is absolutely right

Any solution must involve all the players. Some folks don't think Hamas, the democratically-elected party of choice of the Palestinian people should be involved for reasons that completely escape me. And since all the bullets, bombs and missiles fired off in the last 40 years haven't accomplished anything but further bloodshed, chaos and entrenched feelings of antagonism, why don't we give something else a chance, hmmm? And give it more than a week to work?

Okay, now I'm just talking crazy here, I know.

[RaleighNCDUer]

6. And of course the only reason Hamas won the elections was because

Israel marginalized Fatah, even though it controlled the Palastinian Authority and was the nominal government of the Palastinian proto-state, making them weak and ineffectual while at the same time it encouraged the corruption that was rife within Fatah. IOW, had Israel treated with Fatah as a government rather than as a gang, Hamas would have been the loser.

Anybody but me remember that when Hamas shot rockets from Gaza, the Israeli military surrounded the Fatah governing compound with tanks? What message did THAT send?

[Supersedeas]

16. he would serve us well in the State Dept of the next Administration

should he accept.

[fasttense]

2. War is way too profitable for

the ruling elite in both Israel and the US for them to get really involved in peace negotiations.

Better to just say you want peace and continue murdering people for fun and profit then to actually sit down and deal with your enemies.

[bdamomma]

3. unfortunately peace does not make any money for these murderous thugs.

shameful.

[leftchick]

4. but then Israel would have to stop using their war toys

thank god for Jimmy.

k&r!

[Ganja Ninja]

5. How dare he actually make an effort to talk peace.

He obviously doesn't understand that peace flows from the end of a gun.
:sarcasm:

[HCE SuiGeneris]

7. This is a chilling summary of "our" current and future foreign policy.

:mad:

[Richard Steele]

9. Yes, it really is. K&R

[reprehensor]

8. Go, Carter.

You have support.

[DCKit]

18. Carter lost in 1980 because he was seen as a pussy.

That we got Raygun and all that followed because we chose the bullies over the geeks and diplomats is no surprise.

It's a sad commentary that, by doing the right thing, President Carter can make this administration look so, so bad, incompetent, intractable and aggressive.

The Hillary shoots off her mouth about using nuclear weapons against Iran.... Yeah, we really need us some Hillary. :sarcasm:

[elizfeelinggreat]

10. Common Sense

Wish we had more of it in DC.

[LSK]

11. unfortunately, Israel has dozens of settlements in Palestinian lands that it gained in 1967

That wont work.

[annabanana]

12. ah yes.. those OTHER fundy nutjobs. . . . .

They come in all shapes & denominations.

[hughee99]

13. That's the "out"

Hamas will accept it IF the Palestinian people will. Good PR for Hamas, but they know there's no chance the people will accept it.

[LSK]

15. the Palestinians will accept it...

its the thousands of Israelis living in the settlements that will have the problem with it.

[MindMatter]

14. If Rice feels that strongly, then she should have Carter arrested

The fact is this administration doesn't have any idea or any vision. Their game plan has always been to do exactly as Israel tells them, and in return, Israel will make sure we can have control over the Middle Easter oil fields.

Hows that policy working out, Condi?

[reprehensor]

17. Video: Carter meets with Assad, Mashaal in Damascus 4.18.2008

Look at the positive response he's getting from the people he meets with.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x122586

Why would anyone stand in the way of this?

[walldude]

19. What a whack job Carter is..

I mean really. Going around acting like America has a responsibility to actually listen to all sides when brokering international relations. How is this going to look? What's he trying to do? Make us look like reasonable people who can see that both sides have a point and need to come to an agreement somewhere in the middle? What kind of foreign policy is that? How are we going to continue our "Kill Em' All" policy with whack jobs like Carter out there trying to make us look.. um.. reasonable? He must be stopped!!

[malaise]

20. I love you Jimmy Carter

and I've loved you for decades

[crimsonblue]

21. my grandfather once told me

That what is popular is not always right, and what is right is not always popular. (yeah i know, he stole the quote from someone else). Pres Carter has probably significantly damaged his reputation in the short term, but the mythos around him can only grow. The more I study American History, the more I realize that Carter actually was a good president, and is probably one the best people that has ever lead this country. I can only imagine how things would be had he defeated Reagan. Thank God for true Heroes like Jimmy Carter. One last thing, I just now saw Condi's comments about starting talks with Hamas not helping anything. Well, how the fuck, exactly, would it hurt? How is it EVER a bad idea to sit down and talk through our differences and conflicts? I mean, seriously, isn't this what every well functioning family does (or should do)? How can you just ignore the elephant in the room? Fucking Bush....

[Prophet 451]

27. Carter was too good for the presidency

Maybe it's the cynic in me but I've always thought that being a president (or a PM, come to that) virtually requires you to be willing to be underhanded, sneaky and immoral on occasion. Carter was too good a man for that. Too good a man for the USA as well, someone like him belongs to the world at large.

He's already won the Nobel Prize but if he can achieve peace between Israel and Palestine, the guy should be canonised.

[Uncle Joe]

22. I believe that's why they say something to the effect of "you can't make peace with your friends",

well maybe you could if got in to an argument but other than that, it's generally done between enemies.

I believe the only people that can't bring about a peaceful settlement are those too lazy minded to even try.

[Disturbed]

24. Ms Rice is useless. She has zero credibilty.

Thank you Dems for voting her in as Sec. of State.

[NNN0LHI]

23. Thats funny what does Obama have to say about this? I noticed you didn't mention him

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080422/pl_afp/mideastconflictusvoteobamacarter_080422184010

Carter-Hamas talks 'bad idea,' says Obama

WASHINGTON (AFP) - White House hopeful Barack Obama Tuesday slammed last week's meeting between former US president Jimmy Carter and the exiled leader of Hamas militants as "a bad idea."

"As I said before I think it was a bad idea for president Carter to meet with Hamas without having recognized Israel or denounced terrorism or acknowledged previous agreements given that they are not heads of state," he told a Pittsburgh press conference.

"To sit down with them, I think it gave them a legitimacy that was unnecessary."

[theboss]

25. It's a joke of an offer and to treat is seriously shows a lack of understanding

Give me land...and I won't bomb you for ten years.

I believe this is the offer the Cyclons gave in Battlestar Gallatica.

[bonito]

26. K&R n/t

[seafan]

28. Vilified 30 years ago, Carter 'has become a respectable statesman in eyes of Iranian media.'

LAT: Vilified 30 years ago, Carter 'has become a respectable statesman in eyes of Iranian media.'

[papau]

31. True - but we lack Hamas statement don't we - only offer on the table is 10 yr truce before war.

[iamthebandfanman]

29. if you just ignore something, itll go away

the true banner of the ignorant and dillusional.... on both sides of the isle.

must be nice to just think things in and out of existence.

[MiniMe]

30. That would assume that the *co wants peace in the ME, I'm not so sure.

Of course, Jr just expects everybody to bow down and do what he says. As for McCain...

[RedEarth]

32. KR........great post!

[kiteinthewind]

33. Jimmy Carter has always been my #1 hero! Thanks for the post. nt

:kick:

[ScreamingWhisper]

34. Carter-Hamas meeting achieved nothing: Palestinians

"Just hours later Meshaal told a press conference in Damascus that Hamas would not recognise the Jewish state and would insist on the right of return for 4.5 million Palestinian refugees."

Geez Louise, can't trust anyone it seems these days.

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=080423112836.vw3o9562&show_article=1