This is sick... the western leaders are smoking crack
U.S., Europe Warm to Hamas Governmenthttp://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=11247115:39 Sep 21, '06 / 28 Elul 5766
by Hillel Fendel
The Quartet, including the U.S., issued a statement "welcoming" a possible Hamas-Fatah unity government and expressing the "hope" that it would "reflect" recognition of Israel.
Concerned surprise is the order of the day in Jerusalem government corridors, following the announcement issued by the Quartet at the United Nations on Wednesday. The statement was formulated at a meeting of the UN Secretary-General and the foreign ministers of the U.S., Russia and The European Union.
"The Quartet welcomes the efforts of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to form a government of national unity, in the hope that the platform of such a government would reflect Quartet principles and allow for early engagement," the statement read.
Though it falls short of the full recognition of Hamas sought by the terrorist organization, the statement marks the first time the U.S. has shown any sign of recognition of a government in which Hamas has a part.
Fatah, lead by PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen), and Hamas, which currently leads the Palestinian Authority government, are trying to form a coalition government. The purpose is to end the boycott imposed by many western countries on the PA, brought on by the Hamas refusal to recognize Israel and renounce terrorism.
Reuters reported that U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice "played down talk of a U.S. shift," and that she told reporters, "If indeed there is going to be a government which is able to govern, it is going to need the support of the international community and it needs to be committed to peace."
Just two days ago, U.S. President George Bush told the United Nations that a PA government would earn recognition only if it recognizes Israel and previous agreements signed with it, and gives up terrorism.
Voice of Israel Radio reports that Jerusalem government officials are "surprised and worried" over the Quartet's announcement. Attempting to be reassuring, some said the Quartet statement still "maintains the principle" that the above conditions must be met.
Hamas, on the other hand, greeted the statement with jubilation, saying it showed "political flexibility" and "progress." Just hours before the Quartet statement was released, PA prime minister Ismail Haniye of Hamas said again that he has no intention of ever recognizing Israel.
The White House can be faxed at 202-456-2461, and President Bush's email address is "
[email protected]".
Downside of US policy shift in support of Palestinian unity is the downgrading of Bush’s strategic relations with Olmert governmentSeptember 21, 2006, 1:17 PM (GMT+02:00)
http://www.debka.com/headline.php?hid=3291DEBKAfile’s Washington sources report that the Middle East Quartet’s support for a Palestinian unity government is just the first step in a new, not fully-consolidated Bush administration initiative on the Palestinian-Israeli dispute. The steps to come will exact from Israel the full price for losing ground in the Lebanon War.
Nonetheless, the three war leaders, prime minister Ehud Olmert, defense minister Amir Peretz and chief of staff Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz, continue to evade the sorry consequences of that war and play down the resulting rift with the Bush administration. Indeed the trio shouts down voices calling for an accounting and declares no one can better correct their mistakes and prepare the army and country for another conflict.
In contrast, Hizballah’s Hassan Nasrallah is paying for his blunders. Iran has confined his duties to domestic politics and public appearances in which he excels, no longer empowering him to decide when to fire rockets into northern Israel, order deep cross-border incursions or abduct Israeli soldiers.
President George W. Bush cannot demote the Israeli premier, only their relations; and distance him from White House Middle East decision-making.
On Sept 13, Bush looked in on a discussion between visiting foreign minister Tzipi LIvni and his National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley on the Lebanon and Palestinian issues and the Iranian nuclear threat.
He exchanged a few words with her for the clear purpose of sizing his visitor up.
Jerusalem is playing down that seemingly casual encounter like the many symptoms of the widening breach with Washington for the following reasons:
1. The cracks were evident in the course of the 33-day Lebanon War when the US president never once conversed with the PM Olmert.
2. The impression the US president gained of Livni at the White House did not change his mind about not doing business with the Olmert government or persuade him she was of a different caliber.
3. Washington is not blind to the low esteem in which the Israeli public holds the prime minister, his team and his party. One of the opinion polls published Thursday, Sept. 21, on the eve of the New Year festival, gives Olmert an approval rating of 7%! Yet he continues to declare that no one is better qualified to lead the country.
This gap in the Israel government’s credibility at home and abroad convinced Bush to launch a new Middle East initiative headed by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice without conferring first with Jerusalem. The Quartet’s announcement at UN Headquarters caught Livni by surprise Wednesday, Sept. 20, the day of her address to the General Assembly.
“The Quartet welcomes the efforts of Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas to form a government of national unity, in the hope that the platform of such a government would reflect Quartet principles and allow for early engagement.”
This announcement not only opens the way for international recognition of a Palestinian government led by Hamas, but is also the first step towards engaging that government in peacemaking, without requiring Hamas to recognize Israel’s existence or forego terrorism.
The US president has no guarantee that engaging the most radical Palestinian elements in a fresh round of Middle East diplomacy will be any more successful than his failed attempt to pacify Iraq by dealing with its violent Sunni insurgents. But whatever the outcome, Israel has taken a dive in Washington’s strategic calculations.
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