Hamas who?
Hamas, still on the lists (properly so) as a terror organization, enters and wins majority seating in the Palestinian parliament. The US has walked assorted sections of the middle east to the democracies door and begged prodded them to walk through. Without any assurance or knowledge whether this leads to a grounded future or cliff face over an abyss. Then when someone does so, the U S and Israel bath together in a shower of reaction
U.S. and Israelis Are Said to Talk of Hamas Ouster - New York Times. They seemed un-inclined to regard the outcome of a democratic election as legitimate
Israel signals no ties with Palestinians under Hamas. Did this really take them by surprise - how much attention could they have been paying? Perhaps the Administration would like to re-coin our democracy. So that it reads e pluribus pecuaroris - out of many, a flock of sheep, on one side. And In no democracy we trust on the other. To serve notice on anyone who may be inclined to equate God with social justice, and insulate themselves from inconvenient outcomes. Shortly after Secretary of State Rice embarked on a junket to to the middle east
US dilemma: dealing with Hamas | csmonitor.com. The Administration appears to have been rebuffed internationally here
US meets resistance on isolating Hamas - The Boston Globeand in Russia's diplomatic overtures to Hamas
Bush, Putin Confer by Phone on Hamas, Iran - Yahoo! News (which left Putin looking foolish). The low hypocrisy of their pique being the primary reason. At this juncture Henry Kissinger wrote a oped which appeared in the Washington Post in which he made a number of obvious but solid points: "traditional diplomacy works most effectively when there is a general agreement on goals; a minimum condition is that both sides accept each other's legitimacy, that the right of the parties to exist is taken for granted. ...Hamas represents the mind-set that prevented the full recognition of Israel's legitimacy by the PLO for all these decades, kept Yasser Arafat from accepting partition of Palestine at Camp David in 2000, produced two intifadas and consistently supported terrorism. ...And, as with Sharon,[here he is talking of Sharon's acceptance of the two-state solution] this may not happen until Hamas is convinced there is no alternative strategy -- a much harder task since the Sharon view is, in its essence, secular, while the Hamas view is fueled by religious conviction."
-- What's Needed From Hamas
Mr. Kissinger also makes the point that it will be critical for the ruling political parties on each side to form very solid governing coalitions before they attempt to move forward in their dealings with each other.
The United States cannot let the appearance of inconsistent regard for democracy linger long. It places a premium on what ought be done
The Right Way to Pressure Hamas - New York Times. First is to be realistic on what Hamas may do. Make the decision to become a political party capable of running a state. Here they may not moderate their rhetoric, but moderate their action. They may moderate their rhetoric gradually taking advantage of opportune political events to make adjustments
World should give Hamas a chance to moderate: Abbas. Alternately there may be no moderation of rhetoric, and only a temporary moderation of action to rebuild and consolidate their military position, and completely replace Fatah as the Palestinian dictatorship. What U S, Britain, Canada
The Globe and Mail: Canadian aid cutoff would cost Hamas millions and Israel may do lies with sanctions, embargoes, and funding cutoffs. There is no problem with putting a moderate squeeze on the Palestinian Territories. Neither the U S or Israel is obligated to support a state formally dedicated to Israels destruction. The Palestinian authority has no real funding, the U S has a enormous lever on them in resources we control. Neither are we free; though, to ignore a government we don't like. There seem to be some vague threats that Israel will sanction assassination/executions of elected officials they regard as being terrorists
VOA News - Israel Says Hamas Not Exempt From Targeted Killings. Its unclear whether this would be triggered by attacks on Israel or mere intransigence by Hamas
INTERNATIONAL PRESS CENTER Israeli Government Threatens to Eliminate
Haniya, Hamas Describes it as continuation of Israeli Mentality of
Aggression. This is pushing the envelope. It is unsupportable, and more critically, unwise policy. First decide which is more important to you: action or rhetoric. Then set a price on what you have determined you really face (set a fair market price on it). Wait an election cycle and see how much Hamas the Palestinian people really want to buy, and at what price. Find the market clearing price point; repeat, then deal with it.
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