Posted on 06/15/2007 8:35:56 AM PDT by SJackson
WASHINGTON: Bush administration officials said that they had been discussing the idea of largely acquiescing in the takeover of Gaza by the militant Islamic group Hamas and trying instead to help the Fatah Party of the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, retain its stronghold in the West Bank.
The United States had quietly encouraged Abbas to dissolve the Palestinian government and dismiss Prime Minister Ismail Haniya, steps that Abbas announced Thursday, administration officials said. Before the announcement, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice telephoned Abbas to reiterate U.S. support for the move, they said.
"President Abbas has exercised his lawful authority as the president of the Palestinian Authority, as the leader of the Palestinian people," Rice said. "We fully support him and his decision to try and end this crisis of the Palestinian people and to give them an opportunity for - to return to peace and a better future."
The state of emergency that Abbas announced has underscored the widening rift separating Gaza, where Hamas has largely routed Fatah's forces, and the West Bank, where Abbas still has a strong base. But diplomats and Middle East experts said a "West Bank first" strategy might now be the last option for Rice to salvage something from her plans to push for an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal.
The State Department insisted that the United States had no plans to abandon Palestinians living in Gaza.
(Excerpt) Read more at iht.com ...
Total confusion
yes, the US should accept the take-over, and bomb them to hell.
We’re gonna acquiesce to Hamas’ takeover of the Gaza Strip.
Do we have any choice in the matter - short of an invasion?
Three state solution in the works.
May as well let them work things out. Beats the heck out of thinking we/NATO can send in troops to do it.
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The State Department insisted that the United States had no plans to abandon Palestinians living in Gaza.
I presume that means we'll provide aid to Hamas as well. Only humanitarian, and only to their as yet to be established non-military arm that the State Dept. is babbling about.
Outrageous.
We should give the IDF the green light to defeat Hamas completely, with no-holds barred...and we should blatantly and before the world help them in every way possible, logistically, G2, etc. while they do it.
This is getting scary. I’m confused, I thought it was US policy to not deal with terrorists.
Bush is, without a doubt the worst president in history, and not for what he has done, but for what he has not done. He has been handed so many chances for meaningful change and just pissed it away. Be it border security and immigration, wasteful government spending, and now a terrorist regime with a mind for expansion, he has simply dropped the ball. If a full scale bombing and repulsion of Hamas does not take place within the month, I’d say ‘incompetent’ would be the wrong word for him. Rather, substitute ‘comatose’.
The State Dept is quite ready to give the ‘non-militant’
arm of terrorist Hamas weapons and money at US taxpayer
expense, so that more Americans can be slaughtered.
Iow, American taxpayer dollars will continue to flow, and plans for a Islamic terrorist state on Israel's doorstep remain intact.
Bush must be losing his mind.
Simple. Abbas retreats to West Bank and divorces his govt from HAMAS elements. Hamas occupies Gaza. US and Israel recognize Abbas govt as the only lawful, legitimate, democratic govt of “Palestine.” US and Israel bomb the hell out of Gaza, destroy HAMAS. Now land negotiating position for two state solution is strengthened for the Israelis, because If the palestinian govt gets ANY of the Gaza, it’d be more than they had (because now defeated HAMAS took it away from them). The Palestinian ability to negotiate without being schizophrenic is strengthened because HAMAS is destroyed, so cooler heads dont have to be constantly looking over their shoulder.
I love it when a plan comes together.
It appears the wheels have come off the US government at the highest levels.
At this level of incompetence the distinction is meaningless (I’m a life long republican).
end this crisis of the Palestinian people and to give them an opportunity for
They got what they voted for, and I don’t want to hear one
Democrat supporter belly-ache about high taxes.
You mean the “throw-money-in-the-toilet” response?
Yes, we have a choice - we can green-light Israel to clean house.
I still am so amazed that the Muzzies/Arabs picked TWO fights with Israel, got their tails handed to them on both occasions, and yet still are crying and complaining that they want “their” land back that they lost in both fights.
Land, which in my Biblical point of view should be Israel’s anyway....but that is a whole different debate.
Just one bone to throw into this subject... What if Israel of Old Testament days, had 100% complied with God’s word - ie - killed 100% of those Israel conquered? There would be no Palestinians in the world today.
Lesson to be learned - if God tells you to do something, and you don’t follow through, it can come back and bite you in the butt...even thousands of years later.
You really think there’s a meaningful difference between Hamas and Fatah?
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