Posted on 11/14/2005 6:54:42 AM PST by Sabramerican
Rice and PM in sharp row on Hamas role in PA vote
By Aluf Benn, Arnon Regular, and Akiva Eldar, Haaretz Correspondents
A sharp dispute arose on Monday between Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice over the issue of Hamas participation in Palestinian elections slated for January.
In a Monday morning meeting in Jerusalem, Sharon said that allowing Hamas to take part in the elections for the Palestinian Legislative Council would be a grave error, and would only weaken Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, rather than strengthening him, as Palestinians have argued.
...
PM: Hamas participation could end road map According to Sharon, Hamas participation in the election could spell the end of the road map peace plan, that is, if an armed terror group became a political partner to Palestinian rule.
"We wholeheartedly support President Bush's moves for democratization, but we will not aid Hamas. We will not aid the murderers of Jews, even if they take part in elections," Sharon said.
Rice took issue with Sharon's position, saying that following the election it would be easier to force Hamas to diasarm, since the pressure would be coming from then international community as a whole.
The secretary said she respected the Israeli position, and that if Abbas were to fail to disarm Hamas, he would lose the support of the United States and of the world.
Rice added that Washington would shun contacts with Hamas and the Islamic Jihad even if they were part of the government.
(Excerpt) Read more at haaretzdaily.com ...
Rice took issue with Sharon's position
Of course she did.
Someone explain the Bush Administration to me. Better yet. Explain to the family of the Iraq casualties.
Embarassing. Even more embarassing since Saudi arabia gave millions and millions to Hamas, and Bush has to sign all kinds of national security waivers to avoid the Saudis facing our anti-terror laws. Hamas is a horrific terror organization.
To use my best diplomatic-speak, it is "troubling" to hear this coming from a senior administration official. Especially in view of Hillary's comments concerning the wall and Palestinian violence. It looks like Hillary will succeed in cementing the Jewish vote if this is any indication of things to come.
Condoleeza Reich knows nothing about the ME. Her expertise lies with Russia.
..................
A few of the articles mention the crux of the disagreement, but most don't.
Israel has already given in to American insistance that Hamas be allowed to participate in elections, as al Qaida does in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Muslim Brotherhood in Eqypt and Saudi Arabia. It's democracy after all.
At issue now is "freedom of movement". Thus far Israel has refused to allow free movement to known terrorists, and in fact has indicated that they'll be arrested whenever possible. That's contrary to American policy, which insists that killer or not, a terrorist who's a candidate must be allowed freedom of movement.
The PA takes it a step further and insists that potential candidates be released from Israeli prisons to campaign. The administration hasn't jumped aboard that one yet.
I have been following this farse through I don't know, how many administrations. It is a farse. I am tired of seeing our WASTED government efforts and taxpayer dollars being thrown into the wind.
Frankly, I wish we would let Israel settle its own issues with the Pals -- and this crap would be over. That is what I said back in the late sixties too...
this is how we treat our friends?
Troubling? Consider that the "mission" to Israel is led by James Baker. His commentary on American Jews took Bush's percentage of the Jewish vote from 39% to 11% in one term, and it's not recovered yet.
I hate to break it to you, as it was hard for me to accept the fact. Your tagline makes no sense.
You can not support Israel- and when I say support Israel, I mean simply to live in some sort of safety- and support Bush.
Rice took issue with Sharon's position
That worked so well in 1938.
FRmail me to be added or removed from this Judaic/pro-Israel/Russian Jewry ping list.
Warning! This is a high-volume ping list.
---You can not support Israel- and when I say support Israel, I mean simply to live in some sort of safety- and support Bush.---
Yeah maybe I should just STFU. One week it's you can't support Sharon, the next it's you can't support Bush.
And what is the Dem position? I bet it is the same as the current official USG position.
Not supporting Bush doesn't mean you switch to the Democrats. It means not supporting Bush. It means supporting Republicans who might stop him from harming Israel's security.
I also bet there is a sizeable percentage of Israelis who agree with our position rather than Sharon's. It is a matter of tactics, not strategy. The US is the world's biggest supporter of Israel, i.e., a matter of principle and not poltical expediency.
Rice took issue with Sharon's position
No, I don't believe most Israelis would take Rice's position. I don't believe anyone sane would take Rice's position.
As to the administration position, if you support it, in the name of consistency you must support the participation of al Qaida in both Iraq and Afghanistan. As well as al Qaida, Hamas, Fatah and the Muslim Brotherhood in elections in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan. If they ever have free elections.
To be consistent, it would make sense to take Hamas off the terror list in the US as well, reopen the institutions closed for financial support, and free those jailed for supporting Hamas.
Our position is hypocritical, and yes, I think the terrorists recognize weakness when the see it.
So are GWB and Rice insane? If you can believe the Haaretz account, Sharon's objection seems be linked partially to weakening Abbas. "In a Monday morning meeting in Jerusalem, Sharon said that allowing Hamas to take part in the elections for the Palestinian Legislative Council would be a grave error, and would only weaken Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, rather than strengthening him, as Palestinians have argued."
If the Palestinians don't believe that this is the case, then how should the US interject itself into this squabble? By siding with Sharon? Rice did say that, "that Washington would shun contacts with Hamas and the Islamic Jihad even if they were part of the government."
Hamas has boycotted previous PA elections. The fact that they want to participate and be part of the democratic process could change the dynamic. Excluding them won't change the facts on the ground. In fact, exclusion could actually strengthen their hand and popularity.
You are correct if the members are citizens of that country. AQ in Iraq and Afghanistan consists primarily of foreigners. They don't deserve a vote in those countries. Free elections mean just that. We can't control the results nor should we try. It is counterproductive.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.