So I wanted to talk a little bit about the goals of terrorists organization and explain why I think that Pres. Carter is doing one of the worst things possible.
1. We studied about a lot of groups who had very large demands over the years. As the demands in most cases were not met they generally died off in attacks and had to attempt at finding other ways to get the attention they wanted, and in most cases just kind of died off and gave up.
2. The few that were successful became legitimate organizations or got some kind of official recognition and as a result were more successful in their claims or at least were able to air their grievances on a more acceptable platform.
3. President Carter negotiating with Hamas is going to legitimize them or ie in the minds of Americans or the media they are no longer radical terrorists groups who cant be dealt with they are more rational. The idea of helping a terrorist group become legitimate I am not against however, Carter is going to them not the other way around so.... Can they truly change in the way they need to without having an internal shift of policy and idea or is Carter going to fix it all ? I don't think and that is why I think that public figures should be very careful on how they treat criminals least they legitimize unfairly.
Agree or Disagree ?
David
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7 comments:
I agree with you. I don't think Mr. Carter's actions will make any major change in the situation, but they will legitimize the Hamas organization in a way that doesn't force them to moderate their methods and demands. It's a very short-sighted move on the part of Mr. Carter.
The Palestininian people have already legitimized Hamas. The group won a majority of seats in the legislative council in Palestine. As a former president, Jimmy Carter is an ambassador for the U.S. who may be able to smooth some things over with the Palestinian people by meeting with the country's majority party.
Pres. Carter is simply going to the region to help facilitate peace in the region, and should be applauded for his efforts. It's not like he's some B-list Hollywood actor; he's the former president and should be given greater discretion.
I agree with you. This weekend it has been announced that Hamas and Carter have agreed on some sort of "peace plan". I think this is unfortunate as Carter will us this to say his trip was worth it, while it's highly unlikely that Hamas will actually follow through with the plan.
I do agree that despite Carter's best efforts, those moves toward peace have to be made by the two actors involved. However, I do believe that Hamas should be brought into as a legitmate player in the political discussions. We tell the Palestinians to vote, they elect Hamas...and for then feel it fine to isolate them. How is that going to solve the problem? There must be some recognition of Hamas and there must be discussions with Hamas...they are the democratically elected government of the Palestinian People.
I agree with Root however I do think that any move toward peace is some progress. Currently there has been very little movement on the goals of the Palestinians vs. the Israelis. The two parties involved need to meet together however- although I don't know how much an option considering their past negotiations.
I don't think Carter can move Hamas closer to legitimacy. I think at the least Carter should not be excessively criticized for his efforts to draw Hamas into legitimate politics. It's a gesture, and I don't think Hamas believes its negotiating with someone of any real political power. I think at the best Hamas may be want to behave so as to encourage future visits from high-profile political figures (maybe someone with power someday), and at the worst Carter's visit will have no effect whatsoever on Arab or American perception of legitimacy.
I like Carter's visit to Hamas for a couple of reasons. While I don't think Carter's visit will have any large, direct impact toward the peace process or the legitimization of Hamas as a group internationally, I do think that it's a step in the right direction for the group. As was mentioned before, they are the elected government of Palestine and the U.S. should work to legitimize them in hopes that they'll become more moderate. Hamas is not a small terrorist organization like Black September that will die off in a few years when their demands aren't met. They have strong, lasting support from the Palestinian people. Perhaps if we start treating Hamas like a big kid, they'll grow up and act like one. Even though everyone knows Carter is meeting with them against the wishes of the Bush administration and he has no power to negotiate, I think it could be a step in the right direction. Hopefully Carter gets Hamas to agree to do some things unilaterally to show they're serious about real peace negotiations.
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