Dhimmitude at the White House update from Reuters, with thanks to Gabrielle Goldwater:
CRAWFORD, Texas (Reuters) - The Bush administration is showing signs of easing its hard-line approach toward Hamas, in response to the militant group's rising political clout in the Palestinian territories and appeals for flexibility from European allies, officials and diplomats said.The White House acceded to Hamas running candidates in Palestinian elections, even though the group has refused to disarm and Washington lists it as a major terrorist organization.
Senior administration officials said they may be open to contacts with some of Hamas' political affiliates, and would not rule out dealings with the group if it gave up its weapons and ended violence.
U.S. officials and diplomats cast any shift as pragmatic: Hamas-funded social services are popular with many Palestinians; it is winning local races and was expected to make a strong showing in newly postponed parliamentary elections, and some Hamas-backed politicians and affiliates are seen as moderates.
The shift also follows a behind-the-scenes push by European allies, including Britain and France, for Washington to drop its call to dismantle Hamas. European diplomats have warned Washington that its hard-line approach could be a "disaster" for Palestinians who benefit from Hamas aid, sources said.
Within the Bush administration, said a European diplomat, "There is now a realization that they (Hamas) do have a role to play ... that if you can bring them into the political fold, then you'll be marginalizing the military elements of those groups."
Good luck with that. Only if Hamas alters its charter and renounces what has been its goal from its inception -- the complete destruction of Israel -- would any renunciation of violence on its part be anything but a tactical move to achieve the same goal it has tried to achieve up to now by violence.
Hamas has stated that the 36 articles of the Hamas charter are in step with it contitution; the Quran. And Article 11, and article 12 of the Charter state "no one can renounce it or part of it, or abandon it". Hamas is working to solidify its strength as they attempt to gain more popularity with the Palestinian people. Their Hudna is working for them at this time but they will eventually return to their efforts to destroy and take over Israel.
"Within the Bush administration, said a European diplomat, "There is now a realization that they (Hamas) do have a role to play ."
Deja vu as one sees a repeat of the argument for Arafat.
If one could tie the politician's lives to the success of their experiment.
Awe and wonder...
It's amazing that as soon as a terrorist group gets political, their prior murders and mayhem are magically swept away in a new coat of whitewash. In this case, it's not Hamas painting itself up, it's the US gov. Leopards dont change their spots, all attempts at legitimatizing Hamas are excercises in futility. When a monster changes direction, it is still a monster.
It's hard to believe that "someone" in the Bush administration is not wise to Hamas. Maybe this is just power politics over good common sense.
But then, when I saw the photo of Bush kissing Abdullah, a big smooch, right on the left side of Abd's lips, a lightening bolt came out of Allah's sky and entered my pea size brain, flooding it with the light of awe and wonder. A long sentence for a short idea...panic set in...
it took a lot of prozac to get me over that one...I'm no longer in a panic, but I'm still full of awe and wonder...
Good Dhimmis. Such good dhimmis. Now make that $50 million check payable to Hamas and be quick about it or I'll slit your throat. With leadership like this, why worry?
Time and Place Extent of the Islamic Resistance Movement:
Article Five:
Time extent of the Islamic Resistance Movement: By adopting Islam as its way of life, the Movement goes back to the time of the birth of the Islamic message, of the righteous ancestor, for Allah is its target, the Prophet is its example and the Koran is its constitution. Its extent in place is anywhere that there are Moslems who embrace Islam as their way of life everywhere in the globe. This being so, it extends to the depth of the earth and reaches out to the heaven.
Thats the eniter universe not just this planet
they would follow us to Mars if we left.
If only the tiger would give up its taste for eating my children and the vulture its predilection for picking out my parents' eyes, we could all get along.
Tra-la-la-la-la!
Somebody in the U.S. government's got a ham-ass between their ears.
Bush eases his hard-line position as Abbas hardens his. How ironic!
"Within the Bush administration, said a European diplomat, "There is now a realization that they (Hamas) do have a role to play ."
-- from the article above
Exactly right. Hamas's role is to make Abu Mazen seem moderate, and to quietly pocket as much of Israel or the territories Israel has a superior legal, moral, and historic claim to (surely at least as legal, moral, and historic as the claim of the Czech Republic to all of the Sudetenland, from which 3 million ethnic Germans were -- correctly -- expelled after World War II for obvious reasons of permanently assuring security).
But that role is not that of a group that is to be appeased, in the manner in which Alistair Crooke (the man who told the odious Javier Solana exactly what he wanted to hear about the sweet reasonableness of Hamas -- a reasonableness that Solana does not find in the infinitely less threatening and bloodthirsty Euskadi brand of terrorists, or ETA) of the angling-for-Arab-money Conflicts Group, or whatever phony name that phony group now uses. \
Hamas has a role to play, all right. That role is as a target for Infidel weapons, Infidel fury. For it is, like its Shi'a counterpart Hezbollah, part of the shock troops of the world-wide Jihad. It is, then, the enemy of all Infidels -- except of course Infidels like Alistair Crooke and his ilk. They will thrive under any conditions, and intend to.
Wrong, wrong move. I would hope the Bush administration has an Ace to pull out of its sleeve at just the right time but on the face of it, it walks like a duck, smells like a duck, looks like a duck. I am horrified as hezbullah is gaining in favortism too. Political parties with terror 'arms' just can't be accepted as bedfellows for democracy.
Let' see - what's the HAMAS body count at now? Last I checked in March it stood at:
US citizens (listen up W):
19 Americans killed, 30 wounded
Foreign nationals (primarily our Israeli friends and allies):
207 murdered and 1,415 wounded
These figures are 3 months old, so they need to be revised up.
Hugh is absolutely right - these bastards deserve the mailed fist, not the velvet glove. They should be appeased and accommodated under no circumstances whatsoever, and their buddies in the US should be relentlessly hunted down like the dogs they are and thrown into prison.
All you have to know:
Islam is a criminal organization worse than the mafia. Traditional business: Racketeering, blackmail, slavery, extortion, murder, drug-trafficking, piracy, kidnapping hostages for ransom.
The Koran is the guidebook for terror and we are rewarding them for their crimes.
something to cheer you up:
http://www.terrorists-suck.org/fight/the_shoe_bomber.mp3
Terminator-
Once again, mightily impressed by your musical counter-jihad!
You should see if you can get the MP3 file to Ringo "The Second 'Best' Drummer" Starr ... -for some reason I can hear him doing a cover of "The Shoe Bomber (Put a Bomb in Yer Shoe)" and getting the word out (and maybe some schmooze for your shoes at the same time). It has the perfect flavor for his singing style and warped sense of humor.
(Then your version can break out.)
VERY NICE work! And you can dance to it!
(In fact, I'm already thinking of some high-steppin' explosive choreography...)