Comments:Former US president Carter meets with former deputy-PM for Hamas

Good for Carter ... opening the lines of communication with all parties brings more transparency to the situation, and that is always a good thing. Wikidsoup - (talk) 17:15, 16 April 2008 (UTC)
 * I agree. The people that want to marginalize Hamas are forgetting the fact that they were elected by the people of Gaza. Spacehusky - (talk) 20:25, 16 April 2008 (UTC)

And lead them to a civil war which maid life harder for them? --66.229.16.129 21:40, 16 April 2008 (UTC)

Non-interventionist foreign policy at work... Fephisto - (talk) 20:35, 16 April 2008 (UTC)


 * I think it is bad that Carter is doing this. It undermines the isolation strategy, which is to say, "Do this or we won't engage you" where "this"="stop declaring that your ultimate goal is to destroy Israel" among other things.  Now Carter confers legitimancy upon Hamas while it has not moderated it's position.  The message Hamas gets is that it doesn't have to do anything but wait.
 * Isolating hamas, Spacehusky, is not forgetting the fact that they were elected. It is respecting that fact.  Hamas was elected.  Hamas' goal is the destruction of Israel and the Jews.  Hamas does not even make a pretense of offering long-term peace, but rather short-term cease-fires or 10-year "hudnas," and even offering these are opposed by many Hamas members.  No, I do not think the international community should dignify Hamas' position with "talks."   Would you have the international community ignore the fact that Hamas was elected, and treat Gaza as if it were under the rule of Fatah or something?
 * Israel refuses to talk to Hamas (for now) not because it doesn't accept it as the ruler of Gaza, but because of Hamas' professed goals. Israel partially cuts electricity and fuel to Gaza because Hamas is the ruler of Gaza and not just a group inside it anymore. Smaug - (talk) 17:05, 27 April 2008 (UTC)