A tale of two headlines:
#1: “Jimmy Carter to Meet With Hamas Leader in Syria”
#2:”Israel snubs Carter, declines security help”
Do you suppose, just possibly, that there is a link between # 1 and # 2? The second story notes “Israel’s secret service has declined to assist U.S. agents guarding former U.S. President Jimmy Carter during a visit in which Israeli leaders have shunned him, U.S. sources close to the matter said on Monday.”
Why would this be? Could it be a deficit of hospitality for a former U.S. President and (like Yasser Arafat) Nobel Peace Prize Winner?
Or do you suppose the fondness for Hamas displayed by the great military tactician and economic genius has something to do with Israel’s chillness?
Hamas, Hamas: what is Hamas, anyway? Well, according to “The Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center,”
Hamas, which appears on the U.S. list of terror organizations, currently stands out as the organization leading the terrorist activity in the Palestinian Authority (PA), undermining the “Road Map”, and striving toward the liberation of the entire territory of so-called Palestine from the Jordan river to the Mediterranean Sea by means of violence, terror, and armed confrontation
True, that organization is Israeli-based, so it is perhaps not entirely dispassionate. Here’s a bit from Wikipedia:
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 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. The organization is widely described as antisemitic.
Hamas is listed as a terrorist organization by Canada, Israel, Japan, and the United States, and is banned in Jordan. Australia and the United Kingdom list only the militant wing of Hamas, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, as a terrorist organization. The European Union lists Hamas as a group ‘involved in terrorist attacks’ and has implemented restrictive measures against Hamas.
I suppose the jury is still out on whether Jimmy Carter was the worst President in U.S. history. His combination of general incompetence and unstoppable self-righteousness makes him a strong contender. But can even Bill Clinton outdo Carter for cringe-making post-Presidential blundering?
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6 Comments
1. william:This is really fodder for an award-winning book.
Apr 14, 2008 - 6:11 am 2. Chris:Has any other president in US history acted the way Carter and Clinton have acted?
William:
Stephen Hayward wrote such a book in 2004: The Real Jimmy Carter: How Our Worst Ex-President Undermines American Foreign Policy, Coddles Dictators, and Created The Party of Clinton and Kerry.
Looks like it needs a supplement.
Apr 14, 2008 - 7:25 am 3. LSD:Sí se puede!
Apr 14, 2008 - 11:45 am 4. David Sucher:Remember what the Godfather said:
“Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.”
Of course Carter should be talking to Hamas.
Apr 14, 2008 - 3:12 pm 5. City Comforts, the blog:Remember the Godfather, Mr. Kimball
Roger Kimball gets on his high horse about Jimmy Carter talking to Hamas: Should Jimmy Carter be trusted with a passport?. Roger Kimball should remind himself of what the Godfather said: “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.” Of course Cart…
Apr 14, 2008 - 3:23 pm 6. Roger’s Rules » Just how stupid does The New York Times think its readers are?:[...] spokesmen for the Bush administration suggested, the President meant us to think not of Obama but Jimmy Carter, who has just returned from a nice parley with Hamas and a side trip to lay a wreath at the grave [...]
May 18, 2008 - 7:27 am