Posted on 06/14/2007 7:54:34 AM PDT by SJackson
U.S. State Department Spokesman differentiates between "military wing" and "political elements" of Hamas ?
Daily Press Briefing Sean McCormack, Spokesman Washington, DC June 13, 2007 www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/dpb/2007/jun/86365.htm TRANSCRIPT: ...
QUESTION: Sean, any update on the situation in Gaza and are you concerned about the Palestinian Authority?
MR. MCCORMACK: An update, there's still violence ongoing. The "military wing" of Hamas is still attacking legitimate security institutions of the Palestinian Authority and particularly those who report to President Abbas. It's a -- you know, it is a fluid situation as I understand it now. Everybody wants to see the violence end. But let's be clear about who triggered this latest wave of violence and the context in which they did that. As I said, it is this so-called military wing of Hamas that launched these attacks, started these rounds of violence that has swept up innocent civilians in firefights and gunfights and the shelling and the mortaring just as Egyptian envoys were working to try to bring together elements of Hamas and Fatah -- political elements of Hamas and Fatah to come to some sort of political accommodation so they can lower the violence. It also came in the context of not a stop but a reduction in the number of Qassam rockets that were being fired out of a Gaza.
Quite clearly there are those who are irreconcilable to any political process that would result in negotiations with Israel to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. They're quite clearly trying to undermine that by undermining any sort of political accommodation within the Palestinian political process. It's -- you know, the victims -- the real victims in all this are the Palestinian people and the Palestinian people who want their children to be able to take their high school exams, to take their university exams, want to go to work, who just want to be able to provide a better living for their family and for those Palestinians who want to live in Palestine. So we are continuing to support President Abbas.
We have called on others in the region to express their support for President Abbas and those Palestinian moderate political elements who have foresworn the use of violence and who have an interest in reaching a political settlement with Israel via the negotiating table and we're going to continue to support those elements and we're going to continue to support President Abbas.
QUESTION: Are you concerned about his authority?
MR. MCCORMACK: Well, this is -- thus far you have not seen any spread of the violence to the West Bank. You know, certainly everybody welcomes that. You want to see an end to the violence in Gaza. It's an attack upon those legitimate Palestinian institutions that are struggling to provide some law -- some semblance of law and order in the Palestinian areas, who are trying to come up to international standards of behavior whether that's in the areas of finance or governance or security. These are extra governmental groups who want to put an end to that and want to reverse course and who are committed to the use of violence not only against Palestinians but against Israelis.
.... In general, yes, we have made this -- made a distinction between the governments of Iran and Syria and other governments throughout the region. Now there are going to be -- there are -- they come in various stripes and colors, but in essence, you have a group of governments on the other side of the line from Iran and Syria who have a general interest in greater political freedoms and economic freedoms in the region and who fundamentally have an interest in a more peaceful, stable region and who have turned away from the use of violence to try to settle the political differences among states or groups of people.
Iran and Syria find themselves on the other side of that divide and as you point out, they, in each of these individual cases, have in the past played a negative role, the Syrians and Palestinians meddling in the affairs of the Palestinian people, arming -- providing cash and arms to those Palestinian rejectionist groups. The role of Syria and Iran is well-documented and goes back decades and we believe Syria continues to play a negative role in terms of the situation in Lebanon and in terms of Iraq. It's again pretty obvious, our views on the negative role both of those countries have played in Iraq; you know, witness our discussions with the Syrian Government in -- at Sharm el-Sheikh about the negative role that they have been playing, asking them to see it as in their interests and the interests of the Iraqi people to stop that.
Now as for any -- you know, specific role that they may have played either in encouraging or directly giving a green light for any of these particular activities, whether that's in the Palestinian areas or the bombing in Beirut today or any particular action in Iraq, I can't do that right now. That's not the link I'm trying to make. But very clearly overarching the situation, they have played a negative role that the views and policies and actions of those governments are 180 degrees off of what we are trying to promote in the region and what many -- and many people in the region are working to promote.
Yes. ...
Released on June 13, 2007
Is there a terorist’s teat to which the State Dept does not suck up?
Oh really, everybody?
I hate to break it to dumb Scotty here, but the political wing of Hamas controls the military wing of Hamas.
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The State Dept is right on top of things.
An update, there's still violence ongoing.
** Everybody wants to see the violence end ** it is this so-called military wing of Hamas that launched these attacks
** real victims in all this are the Palestinian people
** you have not seen any spread of the violence to the West Bank
A Pro-Hamas Foreign Policy?-Why is Washington urging terrorists to run for elective office?
Secretary Rice on CNN: US will respect elections if Hamas wins
White House: OK if Hamas controls PLC- "business professionals...not terrorists"
to be honest, I find myself rooting for the violence to continue - I think it gives everyone more clarity on who the Palestinians really are.
Hey, the fig leaf worked for Sinn Fein.
Technically, he’s right. There is a difference between the two, but it is a mighty fine hair to split.
Oh Good grief! Do they equate Hamas with the IRA? I can’t recall any member of the IRA being a suicide bomber.
“real victims in all this are the Palestinian people”
He means the ones who voted for Hamas and the ones polls consistently show support terror attacks on Israel by 70-80%. The ones who allow the terrorists to operate in their midsts and who rear their children to become Shaheeds.
Cry me a river, the only real victims are the taxpayers who have been forced to fund the terrorist and the idiot Western governments in support of their fantasy world policies...let ‘em murder each other...faster please!
Yes, I’m rooting for both sides to have much success in killing each other off.
No, it might unite them against Israel, and stop what’s going on. It would be a better time for some quiet Mossad action to stir the pot and turn up the flame, which is already simmering nicely, and get it to a full-on rolling boil.
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