An Example of Carter's Foreign Policy Brilliance
Carter: Hamas is willing to accept Israel as its neighbor (12:16 ET – April 21, 2008):
Former President Carter said Monday that Hamas — the Islamic militant group that has called for the destruction of Israel — is prepared to accept the right of the Jewish state to “live as a neighbor next door in peace.”
Meanwhile: Hamas leader says militant group won’t recognize Israel (12:00 ET – April 21, 2008):
Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal says his militant Islamic group will not recognize Israel. But Mashaal says Hamas will accept a Palestinian state on Palestinian territories occupied by Israel in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.
Not sure what Carter is reading, but it sure isn’t the Associated Press.
People like to blame Israel for all of this. I hear people characterize Israel’s actions against Hamas to be terrorism. But consider this AP article from this morning, Hamas says it’s willing to accept Gaza Strip cease-fire:
Hamas has softened its position and is willing to accept a cease-fire in just the Gaza Strip, dropping a demand that the truce immediately include the West Bank, the group’s senior representatives said Tuesday.
The move marked a significant concession by Hamas as Egyptian mediators try to halt fighting between Palestinian militants and the Israeli army in Gaza. For weeks, Hamas insisted on a mutual cease-fire in both the West Bank and Gaza Strip….
Israel regularly carries out airstrikes and military incursions against Palestinian rocket squads in Hamas-controlled Gaza, a strip of land bordering southern Israel. While Israel is conducting peace talks with the rival Palestinian government in the West Bank, the Israeli army continues to carry out arrest raids in that territory as well…
Israel has repeatedly said it isn’t negotiating with Hamas, a group that has carried out numerous suicide bombings and remains committed to Israel’s destruction. A government spokesman said Tuesday that Israel would keep up its military pressure on Hamas as long as the group threatens Israeli civilians.
“Israeli defense measures are necessary because of the ongoing terrorism launched by Hamas-controlled elements in Gaza. If there were no terror activities there would be no need for Israel’s military activity,” spokesman David Baker said…
Hamas has softened its position and is willing to accept a cease-fire in just the Gaza Strip, dropping a demand that the truce immediately include the West Bank, the group’s senior representatives said Tuesday.
The move marked a significant concession by Hamas as Egyptian mediators try to halt fighting between Palestinian militants and the Israeli army in Gaza. For weeks, Hamas insisted on a mutual cease-fire in both the West Bank and Gaza Strip…
Mashaal said Hamas would accept a peace deal with Israel, provided it is approved in a referendum of all Palestinians, and also offered a 10-year truce if Israel withdraws from the West Bank and Jerusalem. He offered no recognition of Israel and turned down a request from Carter for a halt to rocket fire.
Amos Gilad, a senior Israel Defense Ministry official involved in the negotiations with Egypt, said Tuesday that Mashaal had offered nothing of significance and that his comments were meant only to give Hamas time to rearm.
There’s a lot to that article that is very telling — I tried to get the main points quoted. But notice several things.
First, that Hamas has no intention to recognize Israel. Perhaps Carter has had some positive influence on their shift this week to offer a cease-fire, but for Carter to go around and mischaracterize this in the press is counterproductive, at best. At worst, the statement is designed to make Carter look good, and to make Israel look bad when this deal falls apart. Which it will (see points #3 and #4). It seems that most of the leaders Carter tries to influence only abuse the opportunity and seek their own tactical advantage.
Second, the most important thing to determine here is this – who is the aggressor? Hamas squads fire rockets indiscriminately into Israel (just as Hezbollah did). Israel fights back, targeting the rocket squads. The easiest way to determine the aggressor is to figure out what would happen if one side stops fighting. If Israel stops fighting, they would be destroyed (pretty easy to determine since this is Hamas’ stated goal). If Hamas stops fighting, Israel has stated that their military actions would cease.
Third, the Palestinians are still playing by the same playbook that Arafat played by. That is, to attack until Israel bumps up the pressure, then cry foul, negotiate a cease-fire, get the borders open again, and resupply for the next round. And remember, Carter was in the middle of all of the deals with Arafat as well. This is a classic example of how diplomacy can easily fail, especially when the aggressors are very motivated, and very patient. Ten years to re-arm isn’t a bad deal for Hamas at all.
Fourth, the offer includes a demand that Israel simply won’t accept – complete control of Jerusalem. I believe this is intentional – Hamas can say “we offered peace but Israel rejected it!” It’s a political move that ensures that Israel will reject the offer and look like the bad guy. These guys are more ruthless than you might think. And they use the meeting with Carter (and Carter’s press statements) to further push Israel’s reputation in the mud. All while Hamas is the true aggressor.
Finally, many liberals will complain about the U.S. support of Israel and how this encourages their “terrorism.” I think the opposite is true – that one of the few restraints on Israel is the support of the U.S. Without our support, I believe that Israel would take a much harder line against the Palestinians and these terrorist groups, and other mideast nations in general. If you’re being told daily by foreign governments, and the terrorist groups they support, that you’re going to be wiped off the map, your response is not going to be measured. Support from the U.S. means that they know that they have an ally if anything really bad were to happen, so they can take a more measured response to the “smaller” terrorism issues that they face daily. And they know that if they just wiped the Palestinians out of the West Bank and Gaza (which I’m pretty sure many Israelis would love to do) they’d lose U.S. support in a heartbeat. So in the interest of peace, we should be thankful that the U.S. has supported Israel.
The moral of the story? Don’t trust terrorists. Like snakes, they’re patient and cunning. And it’s hard to trust politicians (including ex-presidents) who go around trying to put a positive spin on them, too.
Here’s some news for all the rite-wing fruitbats who support Israel:
Ben-ami Kadish was charged in U.S. District Court in Manhattan with four counts of conspiracy, including allegations that he disclosed U.S. national defense documents to Israel and acted as an agent of the Israeli government.
Prosecutors say Kadish, a U.S. citizen who worked at an Army base in New Jersey, took home classified documents for six years and let the Israeli photograph them in his basement. Those documents included information about nuclear weapons, a modified version of an F-15 fighter jet, and the U.S. Patriot missile air defense system. Kadish’s apparent motivation was to help Israel, prosecutors said.
Kadish repeatedly declined to comment as he left the courthouse. “I’m not saying anything. I have no comment,” he said.
Bruce Goldstein, a lawyer for Kadish, had no immediate comment. Calls requesting comment from the Israeli consulate in the U.S. were referred to Jerusalem, where Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Arye Mekel said: “We know nothing about it. We have nothing to say.”