U.S. blasts Hamas as main obstacle in Middle East (from our friends at Reuters)

Reuters, where Every Good Terrorist is a "Militant" ^ | June 12, 2003 | Patricia Wilson

[section9]

U.S. blasts Hamas as main obstacle in Middle East

By Patricia Wilson

NEW BRITAIN, Conn., June 12 (Reuters) - The United States accused the Palestinian militant group Hamas on Thursday of being the major obstacle to Middle East peace amid a wave of bloodshed that has thrown a U.S.-backed peace plan into turmoil.

"The issue is Hamas. The terrorists are Hamas," White House spokesman Ari Fleischer told reporters traveling with U.S. President George W. Bush to Connecticut.

His comments marked a change in tone from U.S. criticism of Israel for its attempt to kill a Hamas leader on Tuesday. Hamas has rejected Bush's Middle East peace "road map" as too generous to Israel.

Since that attack, the Middle East has been engulfed in a wave of retributive violence, including a Palestinian suicide bombing that killed 16 in Jerusalem on Wednesday and lethal Israeli attacks in Gaza. An Israeli missile strike on Thursday killed a senior Hamas militant, his wife and 3-year-old daughter, among seven dead.

"The issue is not Israel, the issue is not the Palestinian Authority, the issue is terrorists who are killing in an attempt to stop the (peace) process," Fleischer said.

Bush has directed Secretary of State Colin Powell and national security adviser Condoleezza Rice to continue speaking to officials in the region by telephone. There was no sign Bush himself would make calls.

"It's not as if a phone call will get Hamas to stop being terrorists," Fleischer said.

He said the road map endorsed by Israeli and Palestinian leaders at a summit with Bush last week was still the right way toward a Middle East peace deal.

"The danger is created by the terrorists. The way ahead will be found by listening to the Arab nations, (Palestinian) Prime Minister (Mahmoud) Abbas and the Israeli government," Fleischer said.

[OREALLY]

Thanks. I have never lost faith in President Bush. Prayers without faith is futile.......All the anti-American, liberal, Bush hating articles being posting lately has been very difficult for my spirit.

[Coop]

I don't really believe there's a secret agreement. I personally think Bush was too quick to criticize Israel a few days ago (though the criticism was relatively mild). Now he's backpedaling quickly, especially after the homicide bus attack. I remember a similar shift last summer, when the President's attempt to be a middle-of-the-road peacemaker all of a sudden appeared too hard on Israel. The White House quickly and publicly reaffirmed its strong support of Israel.

President Bush has a very difficult task, trying to criticize Israel for preemptively exterminating cowardly terrorists while our troops are valiantly and preemptively exterminating cowardly terrorists. I understand what he's trying to accomplish, but I don't necessarily agree with his approach.

[LarryM]

Another explanation is that after being stung by ridicule over their hypocrisy, the White House backpedaled.

[yonif]

Abbas is as terrorist as Arafat. Strengthening him is simply strengthning a new terrorist in the PA. Don't you get it? The whole PA is terrorist. It is a whole infrastructure which has to have sustained warfare against, because it has friends such as Syria and Iran to replenish the losses. The Roadmap is not some grand strategy, because it is not only the US doing it. It is the European Union, United Nations, and Russia. All which have hostility to Israel. Blair was assured of this plan before the war in Iraq. Furthermore, it is also based upon Saudi plan of having Israel move to the 1967. In light of all this, you still think Bush is pluffing and will allow Israel to go after all these terrorists and forget about the Roadmap plan? If the US was serious about supporting Israel in its fight against terrorists, it would have never brought upon this roadmap plan. Today Bush says that Hamas is the only obstacle to peace. The only obstacle? You see. There has not been any deligitimization of the terrorist leadership and you have Powell going over to Jordan next week to kiss up to the Arabs and Europeans that the roadmap is still being followed.

Abbas will never be his own man, thinking differently then Arafat. He is just a more modern, but still terrorist, Arafat.

[hapy]

I am listening to you Chris
:-)

[LarryM]

Abbas is just Washington's terrorist du jour. When Clinton was president it was Arafat, now it is Abbas. Birds of a feather...

[yonif]

18:50 Powell plans to meet with UN, Russian, European leaders in Jordan in bid to save Mideast peace plan

Still part of the bluff?

[grammymoon]

Chris,
You always have the game plan..
I learned a lot from your posts..
Thanks.

[yonif]

Quartet Hope To Revive Road Map (IsraelNN.com) Sources in Washington are reporting that Secretary of State Colin Powell plans to come meet with his Quartet colleagues in Aqaba to try and get the ‘road map’ back on track. The White House is highly concerned over the escalation in violence since last week’s Aqaba summit.

More bluffing.

[yonif]

Notice this:

The way ahead will be found by listening to the Arab nations, (Palestinian) Prime Minister (Mahmoud) Abbas

They still view Abbas' government as legitimate. And you say the White House is against PLO terrorists? How can you say that if they are negotiating with them and making Israel do the same?

[joesnuffy]

We still refer to the so called "palestinans" as a legitimate separate people
When in fact they are not...

They are squatters...invaders if you will who wanted nothing to do with the land now called Israel when it was swamp and wasteland...

Once it was developed by Israel..suddenly they claim ownership

Be that as it may....

We still refer to the land that is Israels soon to become Palestine as "occupied" .....(yet it is Palestinians who "occupy" it since there is as of yet no state called Palestine)

The Palys like the rest of the muslim world refuses to acknowldege Israelis right to exist....as a soverign nation..

We are appeasing terrorists...trying to separate HAMAS or Islamic Jihad or any other organization from the so called innocent citzenry (the ones celebrating in the street on 09-11) is imo foolish..and we will demand that Israel pay for it with the blood of their children..

I dont believe feeding Israeli children to the sharks of Islamic terror will in the end make America any safer than allowing them to build mosques and Islamic centers or having access via lobbyists to our corrupt politicans..

Will we be asked to be as magnanimous when the mexican terrorists demand Aztlan and the UN Security council begins to promote this....?

[section9]

But OK dude, since you obviously are privvy to the mossad and cia files and know of the secret deal, for Israel and OUR sake, I hope you are right.

I'm privy to nothing.

I am making reasonable conclusions given the Israeli actions of the past 48 hours. To get to the conclusion I get to you must assume that:

1. The CIA and the Mossad have access to the same intelligence.

2. Bush and Sharon have a realistic understanding of how powerless Arafat's toadie, Abu Mazen, is relative to Arafat himself. Arafat has all the money that the Eurotrash ladled onto him over the past ten years. That's where he got his ten billion dollars. Arafat also controls the PA security apparatus. This also includes Abbas' bodyguard detail. Needless to say, one phone call from Arafat and our friend Abbas will end up like Cuno, Straci, Tattaglia, Barzini, and Moe Green.

Oh yeah, I forgot about Carlo....

3. That each party, the U.S. and Israel, understand that there can be no peace while Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Tanzim, and that al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades (the last two being Arafat's "official" bodyguard and suicide units).

4. That there is an understanding that, barring a catastrophically savage Hamas attack against Americans, Israeli women or Children, the tactic is a relentless program of targeted assassinations that will be carried out with as few Palestinian civilian casualties as possible.

I believe my conclusion to be reasonable based on my assumptions above.

Be Seeing You,

Chris

[kesg]

I agree, I think the only reason the "tune" changed today was that Bush got "bitch-slapped" by the press yesterday.

I'm not so sure, although the criticism (including by conservatives) was very well-justified. I think today's response is more in line with what the White House really thinks, while yesterday they were trying to be "diplomatically correct." When it comes to fighting terrorism in a post 9/11 world, there is no room for diplomatic correctness.

[section9]

Oh shoot. Number "3" above should say...

3. That each party, the U.S. and Israel, understand that there can be no peace while Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Tanzim, and that al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades (the last two being Arafat's "official" bodyguard and suicide units) remain as viable terrorist tools in Arafat's kitbag.

Be Seeing You,

Chris

[wcdukenfield]

I think it is much more likely that the White House has weighed the blasting they are taking from the right and decided they needed to tip the scales back a little in the other direction. There is no secret agreement between Sharon and Bush. Bush hates Sharon. It seems to me that this is an attempt by the Bush apologists to explain away the administration's failure when it comes to supporting our most important ally in the middle east.

[Wild Irish Rogue]

" I tried to tell you people, but too many of the Bush Bashers forgot that Bush saw the same intel that Sharon did."

It drives me up a wall, to hear radio talk show hosts claim that "Bush has sold out Israel " or " Bush doesn't doesn't understand that Hamas must be destoyed " or " Bush is preventing Israel from defending herself.".They act like the agreement had 2 simple parts,which both Bush and Sharon happily agreed to.Israel will begin to dismantle some outposts and when the inevitable terrorist attack occurs,Israel will stand by and act like a punching bag.There had to be a mechanism in place for taking out the terrorists, that was acceptable to all sides.I wonder if there may have been a plan that teams from Jordan,Egypt and other friendly ME countries, possibly working with some of our covert teams,would work inside the Palestinian areas to roll up the bad guys.Whatever the strategic anti terrorism plan is,it's probably too soon for it to be in place,but,once it is,I believe the hope is that Israel could stay back, at least, publicly and let others,take care of the retributions-either by arresting the terrorists or having them meet another fate.I think the other day, Sharon had a target of opportunity that he couldn't resist, with the Hamas leader,but,unfortunately,they only winged him.But, they did take the shot, which belies the cry that Israel is not being allowed to defend herself.The idea that Bush( and Condi Rice, Cheney,Rumsfeld,Wolfowitz,Perle,etc) would sell out Israel and Sharon would agree to it,is ridiculous.

[yonif]

Israeli murdered in terrorist shooting attack:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/927851/posts

[section9]

I think it is much more likely that the White House has weighed the blasting they are taking from the right and decided they needed to tip the scales back a little in the other direction. There is no secret agreement between Sharon and Bush. Bush hates Sharon. It seems to me that this is an attempt by the Bush apologists to explain away the administration's failure when it comes to supporting our most important ally in the middle east.

Oh yeah, Bush just despises Sharon. He simply can't stand the Butcher of Sabra and Chatilla!

Jeez, thanks for clueing me in to how much Bush hates Sharon.

Be Seeing You,

Chris

[yonif]

Rice Says Peace Road Map 'Absolutely' Relevant [More US Illusions]

[NittanyLion]

I disagree. This change of tactics indicate the White House lacks a coherent long-term strategy. You wouldn't have seen the White House harshly rebuke Israel's actions if there was a "secret plan" in place.