May 5, 2006
PRETTY LOW BAR, FELLAS:
Bush Sets Conditions For Contact With Hamas (Zachary A. Goldfarb, May 5, 2006, The Washington Post)
President Bush vowed last night not to work with the Palestinian Authority's Hamas leadership until it disavows terrorism and recognizes Israel's right to exist, as three world leaders came together to celebrate the American Jewish Committee's centennial.Posted by Orrin Judd at May 5, 2006 8:23 AM"As you know, I'm a strong believer of democracy and free elections, but that does not mean that we have to support elected officials who are not committed to peace," Bush said, flanked by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan. "Hamas has made it clear that they do not acknowledge the right of Israel to exist, and I've made it clear that so long as that's their policy, we'll have no contact with the leaders of Hamas."
He added: "Democratically elected leaders cannot have one foot in the camp of democracy and one foot in the camp of terror."
This is the one area I do give Bush high marks. He has essentially turned the Israel-Palestine question from a process-oriented policy to a results-oriented policy. He deals with the reality of the situation there instead of the diplomatic fantasy. The situation in 2001 was a disaster, and it is much better now.
If he could find a way to permanently end US funding for Palestine, and reduce aid given to Israel/Jordan/Egypt it'd be even better, but I'll be satisfied with less.
Posted by: Chris Durnell at May 5, 2006 12:12 PM