In news from The Forward, “Bush Administration Vows To Boycott Hamas Militants Elected in Territories,” with thanks to III44(?, my apologies).
The Bush administration “will neither recognize nor engage with” members of Hamas or Hezbollah who are elected to office unless the two militant groups disarm, a top American diplomat told the Forward.
David Satterfield, the second-ranking official at the State Department’s Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, said that the Bush administration is not attempting to block the groups from participating in Palestinian or Lebanese elections. But, he added, the Bush administration would only recognize armed militant groups “if they lay down their arms.”
Satterfield’s comments, which appeared to overturn several earlier remarks from the American brass, come as Hamas and Hezbollah officials are vowing to hold on to their weapons.
But, as Daniel Pipes and others here have repeatedly pointed out, how would this alter the overall goals of these groups? How would laying down their arms change their goal of destroying Israel?