Quote Of The Day
“I think you’d have to find some way to talk to Hamas. I don’t want to insert myself into what Secretary [of State Condoleezza] Rice is doing or what the president is doing. But they are not going to go away. And we have to remember that they enjoy considerable support among the Palestinian people. They won an election that we insisted upon having. And so, as unpleasant a group as they may be, and as distasteful as I find some of their positions, I think that through the [Middle East Quartet, which consists of the United States, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations] or through some means, Hamas has to be engaged. I don’t think you can just cast them into outer darkness and try to find a solution to the problems of the region without taking into account the standing that Hamas has in the Palestinian community.”
- Former U.S Secretary of State Colin Powell, advocating engagement with Hamas (as any remotely sane person would).
Filed under: Israeli / Palestinian, Quote of the Day, US | 4 Comments
Tags: Colin Powell, Hamas, International & Foreign Policy
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It’s about time Mr. Powell! However, this does us no good NOW! Geez.
Yeh – it’s a shame these people only start to talk sanity after they’ve left office.
And yet, according to Alberto Cruz, talking to Hamas may turn out to be not so easy a task. One could surmise that there is as much pressure on the US administration not to go that way from the pro-Western Arab regimes as from Israel. I cannot say that the prospects are good for Hamas at this point in time.
Well, even if the government is overthrown Hamas will not simply disappear. Unfortunately, this whole experience will probably serve to make Hamas more extreme. I remain hopeful that Abbas will eventually see sense and talk to them.