Obama Camp 'Prepared To Talk To Hamas'

The incoming Obama administration is prepared to abandon George Bush's �doctrine of isolating Hamas by establishing a channel to the Islamist organisation, sources close to the transition team say.

The move to open contacts with Hamas, which could be initiated through the US intelligence services, would represent a definitive break with the Bush �presidency's ostracising of the group. The state department has designated Hamas a terrorist organisation, and in 2006 �Congress passed a law banning US financial aid to the group.

Read the whole story here.

Comments

[andj]

Why is Hamas any different to the ANC and Mandela.

They were considered a terrorist organisation by the whites in SA- but they were the organisation chosen by the majority.

You cant not negotiate with Hamas or whoever the Palestinians choose as their leaders. If they choose and extreme group then maybe circumstances (like being in a concentration camp) have pushed them there.

[SERGIOUK]

110 Palestinians coralled into house by Israelis and told the house would be safe. 24 HRS later Israelis shell house killing 30 Pals including women and children. Un stops Humanitarian Aid deliveries of food and medicine because Israelis attack clearly marked convoy killing a driver. Red Cross withdraw for Gaza after Israelis attack ambulance killing worker. The Israelis are commiting WAR CRIMES . The Palestinians will have no food no fuel no medical supplies and no electricity. They will have no help to get them to hospita; when injured. THIS IS GENOCIDE AND WE ARE WATCHING IT LIVE. I AM SPEECHLESS

[gwhizz]

Correction: We are not watching it, we are condoning it.

I am sickened.

This is not self-defense, this is, as you say, Genocide.

[who38]

By a unanimous vote by the Senate; no less. Aren't you proud to be an American?

[rogerze]

It's good that Obama wants to negotiate.

Especially since he considers Hamas terr0rists and wants Jerusalem to remain the undivided capital of I srael.

[1differentdrummer]

The Bush administration is a yet warm corpse that has failed in everything in the Middle East. Is it possible to do worse? Do nothing, and what are the likely results? Do something that has yet to be tried and Bushites, prophets of gloom, will project their own failures onto Obama. Is the Middle East better off than it was in 2001? Is the US stronger and is Iran weaker? Is popular sentiment, the man on the street, for us, or even neutral or respectful? Are we welcome as friends in any capitals except Saudi Arabia? No? Thank George Bush and fifty plus years of republican meddling without being honest brokers. Eisenhower overthrew a popular government in Iran, ultimately leading to today's situation there. Ronnie sold arms to Iran. GHW supported Saddam's war on Iran selling arms secretly to both sides. PNAC deemed that Saddam "had" to be overthrown by Junior who also decreed that elections were needed in Gaza, even if Hamas won. They did. Success? Is Israel helping? So talk to Hamas, might we learn something?

[gwhizz]

I think he wants people to stop dying.

[AnnfromCA]

I am so for Obama attempting negotiations with Hamas.

Go fo it, Dude!

It will grip the world.

And then, Hamas will insist on the right to attack Israel, without restraint.

And that will be a "moment" for the world.

So please, Obama.....­.do sit down and negotiate.

[kevenseven]

You are WISHING for the failure of the new administration.

You dolt.

[rosal]

Yeah, somebody was asking for the definition of tr0//.

[cimon]

I don't think you are quite aware of the world sentiment towards Israel at this"moment".

[scooperss]

Are you?

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/news/2009/01/us_senate_supports_israels_gaza_incursion.php

[Hirnlego]

Its worse than that, but the other way around
ifamericansknew google..

[CologneCitizen]

At the current UN meeting, America is not even able to vote for a cease fire in resolution 1860. While women and children are dying, the USA is waiting for Obama, pathetic. In a few years from a former super power downgraded to a broke and bankrupt country, praying each day China will not pull the plug.

[lizziekw]

Good. We need to talk to Hamas and we need to talk to Israel. This makes sense.

Let's get the Mid-East Peace Process rolling again, it was inexcusably abandoned under W.

[AnnfromCA]

yes, we have such power. LOL*

[kevenseven]

We could cut off Israel from the money tree.

[lizziekw]

Hey, the only peace agreement that's actually worked over there is the one President Carter worked out between Israel and Egypt. It's held since 1978 - no small feat.

We need to get in there and work on this. Doing nothing hasn't served us, or them, well.

But, you know, throwing up your hands and assuming that nothing can be done about anything difficult is so coooooool.

[cimon]

Yes,It's called loan guarantee.

[andj]

At least a couple of billion dollars and arms which is what the US gives to Israel

[enry straker]

I don't think israel has given permission to the US to talk back. I think the US is only allowed to Nod and repeat ISRAEL Talking points.

[gatorgil]

To the too few Israel supporters who have the courage to take on the rest of the tro lls..I wish you a good night and Shalom. To the rest of you..I wish you...noth­ing!

[AliMB]

you wish good night even to your enemies...

[gatorgil]

No..I wish them...NOT­HING!

[gatorgil]

I wish YOU a good night and Shalom!

[kevenseven]

Sweetie pie. I have over 275 fans. By definition I cannot be a troll.

[kevenseven]

Sweetie pie. I have over 275 fans. By definition I cannot be a tr0ll.

And you have: One fan. But you hang in there.

[AliMB]

i have asked this several times, but i never get a satisfactory answer (nor a consistent one)... what is a tro//?

[AnnfromCA]

Ummmmmmm*.­......not really the answer. I was formerly banned at the peak of my "fan" number.

It is pretty cavalier, based on the momental direction of the blog.

[Cookie]

Supporting Is rael has nothing to do with courage. NOT supporting them with a blank check requires intelligence and courage.

[SERGIOUK]

DONT HAVE NIGHTMARES GATOR.....­.

[StillAmused]

Looks like that "diplomacy" thingy is breaking out all over. What a disappointment to knuckle-draggers who prefer counting bodies.

[AliMB]

if the article is true... its the guardian after all...

[HappyIdiot2008]

I will try to like you. But, I sure do not agree with you.

[lizziekw]

I love the Guardian, I read it every day. Great paper.

[gatorgil]

Diplomacy would be nice...but could you tell Israel which terrorist group to have diplomacy with??I mean..ther­e are so many to choose from!

[amool49]

I suggest to read article by Carter to know the realistic picture as to what led to war

http://www.cartercenter.org/news/editorials_speeches/gaza_010809.html

[gatorgil]

Nothing from Carter is "realistic"!

[Petunia39]

Thanks for the link. I admire Jimmy Carter for his courage in speaking out against injustice.

[indypete]

This whole "d1ck measuring" thing of "we will not talk" has always been counter productive. If you don't talk to people, you'll never know what's pissing them off. If you b*o*m*b the snot out of people, you'll piss them off more. Or am I over-simplifying?

[gatorgil]

Yes..but it's past my bedtime so you get a pass!

[peterla]

The Israeli's do not want to negotiate with their enemies in Gaza because then it would come out to the world what the real problems were and what they are trying to hide by preventing reporters from entering and talking to the people of Gaza. Though it is not appropriate to bomb anyone, the Palestine rockets sent to israel, were sent to locations that were not supposed to be settled by the Israeli's. Israel built settlements on land that was not theirs, and the Palestine people protested by sending over rockets to get the worlds attention. Israel in turn cut off water, food and electricity supplies to punish the population, and then used a Bush style shock and awe bombing run to obliterate 700 people, many of them innocent bystanders. It was started as usual on a friday, a low news cycle day, since most Americans don't watch the news over the weekend and would notice less.. In other words, Israel broke their side of the bargain and pushed for more land grabs. I wish the US would wake up to the facts over there, and not give Israel a blank check to destroy lives, and the reputation of the US in the process. We need to move on from all this barbaric behavior.

[kevenseven]

And swimming in blood.

[AliMB]

Obama in April: “We must not negotiate with a t e r r o r i s t group intent on ISL's destruction. We should only sit down with Hamas if they renounce t e r r o r i s m, recognize ISL’s right to exist and abide by past agreements­.”
“Hamas is not a state. Hamas is a t e r r o r i s t organization,” he said.

[rosal]

Link please

[gatorgil]

LINK SAUSAGE,ROSAL!

[AliMB]

here you go... an article coincidentally entitled "Obama criticizes Ex-President Carter's H a m a s Meeting"..­. now thats change you can believe in

http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSN1636948020080416?feedType=RSS&feedName=politicsNews&rpc=22&sp=true

[Petunia39]

rosal, sadly, it is correct... I am hoping for the best from Obama, but it is hard to win an election with the AIPAC crowd breathing down your neck. He has made some pretty dumb comments, like the idea of Jerusalem as a unified capital, when even Olmert agrees that Is will have to share it. And the Is's used his comment on rockets this July as part of their PR campaign on this current war. Hopefully, he will in practice deliver some useful policies, rather than the idiotic same old same old that gets noone anywhere.

[rogerze]

And he was right.

[HappyIdiot2008]

And you must post a link. YOU are not credible.

[AliMB]

link is below... in response to rosal

[rooks]

Me thinky, at that time he was in it for the votes or was just ignorant of the situation. However, people
say stupid things and the smart ones learn and adjust and the stupid ones stay in the past. It seems Obama may have figured that genocide is a bad thing and that the Israel story that most Americans buy into is actually a myth. I will give Israel this, the UK and UN screwed them.

[several]

Thank god. Bring on the grown-ups!

[kevenseven]

There is no form of protest to the Israeli occupation of Palestine that the Israelis will tolerate.

If a third grade class of Gazans were to write a letter to the Israeli prime minister asking for a gallon of milk the IDF would level their school.

[HappyIdiot2008]

Maybe. But we have to beg for compassion. That's the I's way.

[gatorgil]

And how many schools in gaza has the IDF targeted? Answer is none! But the Arab terrorists of Hamas consider schools and hospitals in Israel as soft targets to go after on purpose!

[gatorgil]

Why is my last comment moderated then scrubbed,as usual when FACTS are posted???

[chaos4700]

I'm still waiting for you get banned outright, honestly.

[kevenseven]

Because you are an abusive hysteric.

What part of that is obscure to you?

[gatorgil]

That's a lie! That's just an opinion based on NO FACT!!

[skialethia]

Israelishave been targetting Palestinianchildren for years! The children are the ones who suffered the most growing up in slum-like conditions, playing in the rubble, with no parks. Stone-throwing children have even been jailed against International Law and Human Rights.

Scores of children have been killedover the years byIsraelisoldiers, and everything is well-coumented.

[HappyIdiot2008]

keven sorry but you have to back your words up with facts. Link please?

[kevenseven]

How? Israel and Palestine are as closed to the free press as was the Soviet Union.

[rosal]

He is just talking figuratively.

[rogerze]

There is nothing to talk about.

Not as long as Hamas keeps firing rockets.

There is only retaliation.

[kevenseven]

As long as the Isr aelis hold the Gazans in bondage, the rockets are only a defense against tyranny.

[gatorgil]

How about renouncing the idea of exterminating Israel?? Hamas MIGHT try that one??

[chaos4700]

Well, thank you kindly for highlighting just what an obstacle to peace Israel is. And for pointing out that it really is Israel who are refusing to come to the peace negotiations.

[Indubio]

Right...Is­rael has made plenty of mistakes some of them purposeful (one can only point the finger to right wing stupidity--seems as if that Mill's statement regarding the stupidity of conservatives trancends national boundaries) but in the matter of Hamas Israel has more than sufficient grounds for doing what they are doing. What do you think the US would do if Mexican drug dealers in retaliation for our anti-drug policies started lobbing mortar rounds and rockets into San Diego? How long do you think it would be before the US military took over Tijuana and took whatever measures it had to take to make sure the fire didn't continue? This has nothing to do with landfor peace or anythign else. Hamas is fighting a surrogate war against Israel for Iran. There's no other rational explanation for why anyone would begin a fight they know they can't win and why they butchered their own people two years to consolidate power. What's happening now was planned. I'm surprised Israel waited so long to react.

[HappyIdiot2008]

Hamas has no voice. The media plays pro-I commercials all the time. I have not seen one pro-P one. Can you tell me why?

[gatorgil]

Yes...Isra­el is a democracy and the Arabs like Hamas are terrorists. No American media wants to show support for terrorists while America is in a war on terrorism!

[Indubio]

You're kidding right? Have you been asleep for the past week? The news is filled with reports of IDF killing civilians complete with video. I'd hardly call the present coverage pro-Israel. Who gives a s*** about Hamas? The Palestinians who are dying because of Hamas stupidity are rightly getting plenty of publicity and it's meant to make Israel look bad. Do you think their would be world condemnation if the news was pro-Israeli? Whew get a grip.

[gatorgil]

Yes..Ameri­ca and Israel are democracies fighting Terroism. Most Americans believe that hamas and Hezbollah,etc are terrorists­...aka the enemy. Corporate American media does not want to appear to be taking their side!

[rosal]

For some "strange" reason, people do not like to be caged without food, medication, jobs, freedom, etc. They tend to rebel after a while. Go figure

[gatorgil]

Then they can go live in any of 21 Arab nations who haven't already kicked them out!

[gatorgil]

If they put down their weapons like Jordan and Egypt did...they would get a peace treaty with Israel! Then the rich oil sheiks who have ripped us off for trillions over the past 30 years would surely help them out and help them with infrastruc­ture...wou­ldn't they,ROSAL???

[Indubio]

IYou;re right but not every person so suppressed straps vests of explosives to their chests and walks into a crowded square full of civilians and blows themselves up with the hope of killing as many people including women and children as possible. The Indians didn;t do that and frankly neither do African Americans. Funny thing, when people act irrationally, those doing the suppression are likely to react with equal irrationality. For sometime, I've wodnered if Palestinians doingthe fightign actually want peace. Imagine what would happen if there was peace. The need for groups like Hamas would end and those presently with power, would likely lose it. Hamas views Fatah as a sell out organization but in truth, Fatah fought Israel logn before Hamas was a gleam in the eye of Iran. Arrafat I think simply got sick of the killing when he understood that he simply could never do enough damage to affect a change in Israel's policies.

[skialethia]

Which came first: The occupation and repression or the rockets?

Bob Simon (60-Minutes) said on Charlie Rosie "Gaza has become the largest prison in the world; and the world has allowed it for some time...." Minute 22:03

Minute 13:09 to 14:00 - Describes Apartheid

Minute 13:45 to 15:06 - Israelisliving the good life in DENIAL!

Minute 9:37 to 10:02 - The first step towards a solution - Stop the funding and get toughwithIsrael!

http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/9900

[chaos4700]

Brilliant! Thanks for the link! I didn't think any of this was reaching prime time at all.

[Petunia39]

Thanks for the link! I love it when courageous people speak out.

[Indubio]

Britain occupied/repressed India for 200yrs and Indians concoct/carry terrorist acts like Hamas and predecessor organizations. Hamas knows it can't beat Israel by firing rockets/carrying suicide missions. The purpose of such attacks has little to do with creation of a Palestinan state. This mess has long passed the point of reason. For Hamas, what matter is political survival--they'd rather have perpetual war then peace because with peace their purpose ends. Then there's the matter of individual revenge; not revenge for past Israeli acts but for being born. Whether Palestinians like it or not, Israel exists and that won't change. This was obvious before the 1968 war. Instead of seeking rational compromise, Palestinians were egged on and used by the rest of the Arab world as military surrogates. What you and like thinking individuals fail to consider is that Israel has nuclear weapons: In 1973, they came within hours of detonating them. Israel will blow their enemies off the planet before they let their state fail. That is fact. Nothing Hamas or Iran can do will change that. Israel has been holding all the negotating cards for 30 years and Palestinians continue a pointless struggle. There was grounds for negotiation before the 1973 war but today...I'­m not sure there's anything to negotiate. Sad situation without any clear resolution.

[gatorgil]

The Chicken came before the egg!

[Chopin]

skialethia, thank you for listing the link to Charlie Rose's interview of Bob Simon.
If anything is a real downer, this interview's conclusion is one.
This interview is a real sobering cold shower truth of the reality over there. It's important that you listed it here for others to check, regardless of what sides they take. I hope this interview stirs all serious minded Americans to do some reflective soul searching individually and collectively. I'm wondering along with a lot of other people where Prez. Ob will come down on, and whether he will lead or following public opinion.

The question of a wide regional war hangs in the balance, ... and if there is a regional war, USofA can kiss economic recovery and reform goodbye for good.

[skialethia]

MahmoudAbbas is a weak leader. Weak leaders divide their people instead of uniting them. We have a great example in W. He divides, and no President has messed things up more. Israelwants to deal with Abbasbecause they can continue to call the shots.

Hamaswas elected because ofAbbas. Palestiniansneed a leader who is tough on representing thePalestinians, their human rights, their legal rights and their independence.

MahmoudAbbas needs to resign. New elections need to be called and MustafaBarghouti needs to get as much backing as possible from other Arabnations, because he is the man to lead allPalestinians.

Then the U.S. needs to get tough withIsrael­...no funding unless they start moving on a peace plan that is fair to thePalestinians. You cannot cut up the West Bank in two and divide a people from themselves with land that you usurped. This is calledApartheid. It is a crimeunder International Law and this country must stop enabling thisApartheid.

[rosal]

I just marked you a favorite. Thanks skia!

[skialethia]

Thanks. I'm humbled.

[pdxrose]

How is peace achieved?

The lack of services and an effective government strengthed Hamas, however it is defined. The failure of the Palestinian government created a vaccuum and increased instability in my opinion. Somalia and the Rise of Al-Qeda in Iraq appear to support that theory. Will the failure of the Palestinian government create worse problems? NPR had an interesting interview by the president of Al-Quds University, acknowledging the Palestinian failure to create effective institutions of state and discusses the alternatives created in the vaccuum.
http://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=99108805

Palestinians have the human right to services. How does the world community assure these rights? Isreal's not going away. What solution will give autonomy and services to the Palestinians and security to Israel?

[scooperss]

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/news/2009/01/us_senate_supports_israels_gaza_incursion.php

Yes, they're tough all right. Real tough.

[skialethia]

MahmoudAbbas is a weak leader. Weak leaders divide their people instead of uniting them. We have a great example in W. He divides, and no President has messed things up more. Israelwants to deal with Abbasbecause they can continue to call the shots.

Hamaswas elected because ofAbbas. Palestinians need a leader who is tough on representing thePalestinians, their human rights, their legal rights and their independence.

MahmoudAbbas needs to resign. New elections need to be called and MustafaBarghouti needs to get as much backing as possible from other Arab nations, because he is the man to lead all Palestinians.

Then the U.S. needs to get tough withIsrael­...no funding unless they start moving on a peace plan that is fair to thePalestinians. You cannot cut up the West Bank in two and divide a people from themselves with land that you usurped. This is calledApartheid. It is a crimeunder International Law and this country must stop enabling this partheid.

[Antifascist-08]

Its interesting how these things just sort of leak out. How clandestine is it going to be if everyone knows about it?

I love this though. Yes, we will engage! Who knows if anything can be done to solve this, but if anybody can do this at this point in time it will be Obama, for a variety of reasons. For security reasons i can't say any more.

Of course if he did anything now he could be tried for treason.

Don't tell a soul.

[HappyIdiot2008]

How about you focusing on something a little more positive. Your words are nonsense.

[almazza98]

Why would he be tried for treason?