Wrote this up a couple days ago. Forgot to post.

Rice criticizes Carter for going over to talk to Hamas. Carter says he
never even got ahold of Rice when he called. He has a pleasant talk
with her aide for aobut 15 minutes and recieved no warnings not to go.


Personally, I think I believe Carter and Rice and the President are
lying through their arses.

Rice and Bush say Carter's visit was ineffective. But Hamas just
offered Israel a 6 month cease fire. Does that sound ineffective to
you? Not to me.

Isreal turns it down.

I keep thinking about the way the U.S. does 'mediation' in peace talks.
The U.S. picks a side and tried to force the other side to give in and
comply.

Carter went in and talked Hamas into making a move towards Israel.
People can object as much as the like to him when he was president. But
one thing that seems apparent to me is that Carter is a better mediator
than most of our current politicians working in International affairs.

Sounds to me like it will never matter what Hamas is willing to do to
try and meet Israel halfway. Israel want's what it wants and won't
settle for anything else and would rather continue the fighting and the
deaths rather than meet anyonen halfway.

Good for Carter for following his concious. Good for Hamas for making
an offer. Bad for Rice for lying. Bad for Israel for not accepting a
cease fire.

agrees with u

Carter has finally lost it - Bush bumbling notwithstanding.

Carter's negotiations reward Hamas abhorrent tactics.
Carter's negotiations with Hamas undercut US State Dept. efforts.
Carter's negotiations bypass and abrogate legitimate efforts and agreements with our ally Israel and other mutual allies.

Hamas tactics are: bus and cafe bombings, deliberately bombing religious gatherings and schools, shooting rockets into residential neighborhoods with no other purpose than to kill civilians.

The only appropriate response to Hamas tactics is revulsion and isolation and Carter should know this yet he meets with them anyway. It appears that he is suffering from dementia.

There is nothing to be gained diplomatically by attempting to negotiate with people who indiscriminately kill innocent civilians - such negotiations simply demonstrate the success of these tactics - tactics which are war crimes.

Anyone who would negotiate with them is at best a doddering fool.

I agree. Great breakdown

Funny that Jimmy Carter goes abroad blaming other countries for a problem that he is responsible for. Doesn't seem the Palestinians in Hamas know their history too well, but that's what happens when you spend all that time in the desert.