"Give Hamas a chance." That is the new slogan from the man who was arguably one of the worst Presidents in our history (oil lines, malaise, and under-the-table dealings with the murderous, totalitarian leader of the Soviet Union in an effort to team up and defeat Ronald Reagan in 1980--including telling Leonid Brezhnev that Reagan wanted to start a nuclear war once he became president), and inarguably the worst ex-President ever (certified elections in Haiti that ultimately led to a coup, endorsement of the rigged election of Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez, and support for Kim Jong-Il's North Korea and for Castro's Cuba, and anti-American statements at every stop he makes worldwide), Jimmy Carter.
In an op-ed in Monday’s Washington Post, Carter urged patience with the "transition process" in the Palestinian territories, pointing out that President Mahmoud Abbas still has a good deal of power, especially since, "with nine of its elected members remaining in prison, Hamas has only 65 votes" in the 132-seat (123 if those nine are subtracted, preserving a majority) Parliament.
The former President warned America and Israel that treating the Hamas terrorist organization like--well, like a terrorist organization--could be unwise. "During this time of fluidity in the formation of the new government," he said, "it is important that Israel and the United States play positive roles. Any tacit or formal collusion between the two powers to disrupt the process by punishing the Palestinian people could be counterproductive and have devastating consequences."
This "punishment of the Palestinian people" he refers to includes the cutting off of the "humanitarian aid" that the US ($300 million) and, unbeknownst to most on the left (and to most within Palestine), Israel ($50 million) give to the Palestinian Authority monthly. Just why it would be wise to give over $4.2 billion annually to a terrorist organization, in hopes that they would use it for something other than bombs and guns, which is all they have used their funding for in the past, is about as clear as mud.
Hamas is set to "inherit a bankrupt government," Carter continued. Knowing this, "U.S. officials have announced that all funding for the new government will be withheld, including what is needed to pay salaries for schoolteachers, nurses, social workers, police and maintenance personnel." Perhaps there would be more labor and more money to pay for it, had Hamas not invested so much money and energy since 2000 carrying out over 500 terrorist attacks, killing 390 and injuring 2,100 innocent Israeli schoolteachers, nurses, social workers, and maintenance personnel.
"So far [America] has not agreed to bypass the Hamas-led government and let humanitarian funds be channeled to Palestinians through United Nations agencies responsible for refugees, health and other human services." Of course, we should be more than willing to trust the UN to be capable of properly distributing our aid and money, and of keeping order. Just ignore the oil-for-food scandal, the refugee sex trade conducted by UN peacekeepers in Rwanda, and the anarchy in Haiti, among all of the other examples. Actually, better ignore anything the UN has ever touched, lest one be dissuaded from ever trusting them again.
"This common commitment to eviscerate the government of elected Hamas officials...may accomplish this narrow purpose, but the likely results will be to alienate the already oppressed and innocent Palestinians, to incite violence, and to increase the domestic influence and international esteem of Hamas. It will certainly not be an inducement to Hamas or other militants to moderate their policies," finished Carter--although even he was sane enough to recognize that Hamas will "not soon take the...steps of renouncing violence and recognizing Israel's right to exist."
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