CARTER MEETS HAMAS!

Jimmy Carter plans to meet a fuel-short Hamas[c]

__________________________
GOOD MORNING FLINT!
BY Terry Bankert 4/15//08
You are invited to join me at Face Book http://www.facebook.com/people/Terry_Bankert/645845362 ___________________________
Full article at http://goodmorningflint.blogspot.com/
SUMMARY [ outline] ON Flint Talk http://flinttalk.com/viewtopic.php?p=27342#27342 __________________________
( for FACE BOOK see full article at link above)

REFLECTION: I do not believe that the U.S. intelligence community does not back the Carter efforts and has probably organized it. Carter plays an important role in international affairs and is our best ex-president.[trb]

CARTER THE DIPLOMAT Heading into talks with Palestinian leaders, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter offered to ferry messages from the militant Islamic Hamas group to the United States and even to Israel[AA] The former president arrived in Israel Sunday as Palestinians in Gaza continued to cope with an Israeli-imposed fuel blockade.[c]

U.S.POLICY IS TO BOYCOTT HAMAS WHILE AN EX-PRESIDENT NEGOTIATES Israeli officials have said the visit has stirred "outrage" while the US State Department has publicly frowned on Carter's freelance diplomacy. The former president is undermining their policy of boycotting Hamas for its support of terrorism and its opposition to recognizing Israel. [c] The new chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Monday criticized fellow Democrat Jimmy Carter for plans to meet with Hamas, saying the former president holds "warped" views on the Middle East.[AP] By meeting with the militant Islamic group that controls Gaza and does not recognize Israel's right to exist, Carter "in effect is undermining a current policy which is not just American but held by many others," Rep. Howard Berman, D-Calif., said in an interview with The Associated Press.[AP] Carter — who brokered Israel's historic peace accord with Egypt in 1979 — on Monday defended his plan to meet Hamas supreme leader Khaled Mashaal, saying that isolating Hamas is counterproductive. He has no plans to visit the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.[AA] "History will record that a superpower (the United States) has contributed to the repression of a small population (Gaza's residents)", Al-Agha told a press conference at the office of Ramattan News Agency in Gaza City. [IM] The minister said that the world's conscience is now dead, at a time of unprecedented suffering for the Palestinian people, due to a crippling siege that has been in place on the coastal region since June2007[IM]

WHAT IS HAMAS Hamas (ح?ر?ك?ة? ح?م?ا?س?; acronym: ح?ر?ك?ة? ا?ل?م?ق?ا?و?م?ة? ا?ل?ا?س?ل?ا?م?ي?ة?, or Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiyya or "Islamic Resistance Movement"[1]) is a Palestinian Sunni Islamist[2][3] militant organization and political party. It currently holds a majority of seats in the legislative council of the Palestinian Authority.[2] Hamas was created in 1987 by Sheikh Ahmed Yassin of the Gaza wing of the Muslim Brotherhood at the beginning of the First Intifada. Best known for multiple suicide bombings and other attacks[4] directed against civilians and Israeli military and security forces targets, Hamas' charter calls for the destruction of the State of Israel and its replacement with a Palestinian Islamic state in the area that is now Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip.[5] The organization is widely described as antisemitic.[6][WI-2]

DOES CARTER MAKE HAMAS LEGITIMATE? Analyst Rony Shaked: 'Jimmy Carter's Decision To MeetHamas Leader Haled Mashal Lends Legitimacy To Terror Organization That Wants To Destroy Israel'[I] "I think it is absolutely crucial that in the final and dreamed-about and prayed-for peace agreement for this region that Hamas be involved and Syria will be involved," Carter told a business conference outside Tel Aviv. [AA] "I can't say that they will be amenable to any suggestions, but at least after I meet with them I can go back and relay what they say, as just a communicator, to the leaders of the United States," he said.[AA]

ENERGY SHORTAGE, THE POLITICS OF FUEL Israel blocked fuel supplies from entering Gaza for a fourth day Sunday, exacerbating a new energy shortage in the blighted coastal territory during a spike in cross-border fighting that has left at least 14 Palestinians dead. [c]

HAMAS INTENTIONALY DISRUPTING PALESTINIAN FUEL What was the goal of the recent Palestinian terror attack on the Nahal Oz fuel depot where Israeli civilians were supplying fuel to the Gaza Strip? Rony Shaked of the Yediot Ahronot newspaper says it's part and parcel of the Hamas strategy to force Israel to react so the Palestinians can play the role of victim as they continue to rocket Sderot.[I]

CARTER TO ENGAGE HAMAS DIPLOMATICALLY And as Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas met again Sunday, for the second time in less than a week, President Jimmy Carter arrived in the region in an effort to try a new approach: engage Hamas diplomatically. [c]

HAMAS:TERROR ORGANIZATION Analyst Shaked also told IsraCast that the meeting of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter with Hamas leader Haled Mashal lends legitimacy to a terror organization that tries to destroy Israel.[i]

CARTER MAKES HAMAS LEGITIMATE 'Former President Jimmy Carter's decision to meet Hamas leader Haled Mashal will be viewed by Hamas as lending legitimacy to their organization' - that's the assessment of veteran analyst Rony Shaked. Hamas will be in 'seventh heaven' seeing it as a sign that the U.S. and Europeans and even Israel will soon have to follow suit.[I]

ISRAELI LEADERSHIP OFFICALLY SHUNS CARTER The former president has been boycotted by Mr. Olmert and Israeli Foreign Minister Tzippi Livni for arranging a meeting with Hamas political chief Khaled Meshal in Syria, but a series of public appearances in Israel both before and after the Hamas meeting marks a gambit of public diplomacy with Islamic militants that could avoid a new Gaza flare-up. [c]

PERES MEETS AND COORDINATES WITH CARTER At the same time as the Olmert-Abbas meeting, Carter was being hosted by Israeli President Shimon Peres. Although Mr. Peres has few powers in the largely ceremonial position, his status as Israel's elder statesman makes it likely that he could be used as a quiet channel of communication between the Israeli government and Hamas. [c] On the other hand, Israeli president Shimon Peres said in an interview published by Financial Times that the political agreement with the Palestinians seems to be hard since they are torn and weak. He also uttered that he is skeptical regarding signing a peace deal before the end of the current year. Peres refused to talk about the time needed to establish an independent Palestinian state discarding holding talks with Hamas “influenced” by Iran he said. [A]


CARTER MAY HELP CHANGE THE ATMOSPHERE "Maybe if he brings back a clear message from [Mr. Mehsal] it will change the atmosphere, and public opinion might change," says Akiva Eldar, a diplomatic commentator for the Haaretz newspaper. "But this government and the US administration aren't inclined to change their attitude. He is going to try to communicate with the Israeli public over their heads, which can be effective." [c]

HAMAS AT WAR WITH ISRAEL But he adds: 'Hamas is Hamas is Hamas' and there has been no change in the terrorist organization's long term goal of annihilating the Jewish state. After taking full control last June, Hamas has turned the Gaza Strip more pro-Iran and Islamist. At the same time, Hamas has smuggled in more weapons as it continues the rocketing and raids against Israel.[i]

PALESTIANS MAKE THEMSELVES VICTEMS The recent attack against the Nahal Oz fuel depot that killed two Israeli civilians supplying fuel to Gaza should be viewed in this context. It was a cynical manipulation designed to force a closure of the depot so that the Palestinian could claim they were the victims rather than the agressors.[I]

HAMAS HARMS THE SILENT PALESTIANIANS This as they continue to rocket the Israeli town of Sderot. The Hamas strategy deliberately harms the Palestinian people, but Palestinian public opinion in Gaza is muzzled by the Islamist dictatorship.[I]

CARTER: INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMAT Mr. Carter will spend most of the week in Israel and the West Bank before moving on to Egypt, Jordan, and Syria, where Mehsal has his headquarters. In addition to meetings with President Shimon Peres and Israeli Trade Minister Eli Yishai, he will also meet with the parents of Cpl. Gilad Shalit, who has been held in Gaza by Hamas for nearly two years. [c] The former president then returns to Israel to debrief his interlocutors before leaving the region.[c]

WHO IS JIMMY CARTER James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. (born October 1, 1924) was the 39th President of the United States from 1977 - 1981, and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002. Prior to becoming president, Carter served two terms in the Georgia Senate, and was the 76th Governor of Georgia from 1971 - 1975.[1] He and Senator Ted Kennedy were the unofficial leaders of the Democratic Party, excluding unelected presidential nominees, until the nomination and presidency of Bill Clinton (1993-2001). Carter remains an important and relevant national figure today, and has been especially vocal on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.[WI] Carter's presidency was marked by several major crises, including the takeover of the American embassy and holding of hostages by students in Iran, a failed rescue attempt of the hostages, serious fuel shortages, and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.[WI] After leaving office, Carter founded an institute to promote global health, democracy and human rights. He has traveled extensively to monitor international elections, conduct peace negotiations and establish relief efforts.[6] He is also a key figure in Habitat for Humanity.[7] Carter also became a prolific author, writing 27 books. As of 2008, he is the earliest living president and the second-oldest living president.[WI]

FRACTURED PALISITNIEN LEADERSHIP As for the current contacts between Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Shaked said Abbas represents only one part of the Palestinian people. As such it was hard to see any of their understandings being implemented. Even the Hamasconcept of a 'hudna' cease-fire was only temporary and could not be viewed as a step toward recognizing Israel.The problem wasnot the shape of an Israeli-Palestinian peace accord - that was reached in Oslo in 1993.[I]

PALESTINE POLITICALLY UNSTABLE In Shaked's view the problem is how to implement it no matter what Olmert and Abbas conclude in their contacts.He did not rule out the possibility of a new Palestinian intifada or even a Hamas takeover of the West Bank from President Mahmoud Abbas.[i] Still, the shuttle mission comes at a critical juncture. Pressure on Gaza began rising last Wednesday after two Israelis were killed at the Nahal Oz border gasoline terminal by a group of Palestinian militants who made a rare penetration of the military's security cordon around the strip. [c]

NO GASOLINE,DIESEL OR COOKING GAS FOR PALESTINE Israel has since refused to renew shipments of petrol, diesel and cooking gas to the Gaza Strip, blaming Hamas for allowing militants to target the last lines of supply to a civilian population under a steadily tightening economic siege. [c]

MAIN POWER SATATION COULD COLLAPSE Energy officials in Gaza warned that the power station that supplies the territory of 1.4 million people with 30 percent of its electricity was teetering on the brink of shutting down. Israeli officials pointed out that Hamas has two days of fuel to power the generator. [c]

CATER: OCCUPATION OF PALESTINE IS LIKE APARTHID Although Carter ruffled Israeli sensibilities last year after his book came out in which he compared Israel's occupation of the West Bank and Gaza to South African apartheid, he is remembered fondly for mediating the peace treaty with Egypt, the Jewish state's first-ever normalization of relations with its neighbors[c]

ROCKETS FROM PALESTINE ARE CRIMINAL The Islamic Jihad (Holy War) movement in Gaza has slammed on Tuesday the statements of former U.S. president Jimmy Carter, after he termed the rockets attacks on Israel as "a big crime." [w] Dawood Shihab, spokesman for the Islamic Jihad movement in Gaza, said in response that "Carter's statement of describing resistance as a crime against humanity is in itself an overthrow on the morals of humanity." [W]

BUSH RESPONSE The Bush administration also has criticized Carter's plans to meet in Syria this week with the leader of Hamas, and the plans have angered Israel. There's been less public criticism from other Democrats.[AP] Both the U.S. and Israel consider Hamas a terrorist organization. Carter said Monday he hoped to become a "communicator" between the U.S. and Hamas and said Washington's policy of not meeting with people it labeled terrorists is counterproductive.[AP]


Posted here by Terry Bankert ...
http://attorneybankert.com/

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—WHERE DID THIS STUFF COME FROM---
[I] IsraCast http://www.isracast.com/article.aspx?ID=395&t=Carter_&_Hamas_Terrorism&play=1
[C] Christian Science Monitor http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0414/p01s05-wome.html
[A] ALSUMARIA TV http://www.alsumaria.tv/en/World-News/2-16536-Abbas-to-Blair:-Palestinians-seek-for-those-who-offer-them-hope-and-not-illusions.html
[IM] IMEMC http://www.imemc.org/article/54187
[AP] AP http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iihUfGqvvx-3JR2f5A_1zmdK0cmgD901TQVO0 [W] China View http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-04/15/content_7981056.htm
[AA] ASHARQ ALAWSAT http://aawsat.com/english/news.asp?section=1&id=12424
[TRB] Comments of Terry Bankert to include unattributed cap headlines http://attorneybankert.com/
[WI] WIKIPEDIA http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Carter
[WI-2] WIKIPEDIA http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamas


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