Obama: Hamas and Hezbullah are no longer terrorists
I want to recap a few points about Obama's speech, which I will do through several posts. First, I noted during the speech that it seems that in Obama's world, the only terrorists are al-Qaeda. A review of the transcript confirms that perception. (The transcript is also here. (Hat Tip: Memeorandum)). He then uses that appellation to justify the war in Afghanistan (and Pakistan), but not the war in Iraq which he distinguishes by calling it a 'war of choice.' Calling Iraq a 'war of choice' in comparison with Afghanistan is absurd, but it's not my issue.What is my issue is that in Obama's world, Hamas and Hezbullah are no longer terror organizations. He never calls Hamas a terror organization, and he compares Hamas' violence to Israel's 'settlements.' Here's that passage:
Now is the time for Palestinians to focus on what they can build. The Palestinian Authority must develop its capacity to govern, with institutions that serve the needs of its people. Hamas does have support among some Palestinians, but they also have responsibilities. To play a role in fulfilling Palestinian aspirations, and to unify the Palestinian people, Hamas must put an end to violence, recognize past agreements, and recognize Israel's right to exist.There is no state called 'Palestine' and there are no people called 'Palestinians.' There have been Jews in Israel for more than 3000 years. There is no comparison between Israel's 'right to exist' and 'Palestine's.
At the same time, Israelis must acknowledge that just as Israel's right to exist cannot be denied, neither can Palestine's. The United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements. This construction violates previous agreements and undermines efforts to achieve peace. It is time for these settlements to stop.
Israel must also live up to its obligations to ensure that Palestinians can live, and work, and develop their society. And just as it devastates Palestinian families, the continuing humanitarian crisis in Gaza does not serve Israel's security; neither does the continuing lack of opportunity in the West Bank. Progress in the daily lives of the Palestinian people must be part of a road to peace, and Israel must take concrete steps to enable such progress.
As to construction of 'Israeli settlements,' the only agreement in which that is discussed is the road map (which was endorsed by the Israeli cabinet subject to fourteen reservations that the Bush administration never addressed, and subject to President Bush's commitment that Israel could continue to build for 'natural growth' and would eventually be allowed to keep the 'settlement blocs' in a final status arrangement). Israel has already shown that it will dismantle Jewish cities and towns and expel Jews from their homes for an ephemeral 'peace.' 'Settlements' under construction should not stop negotiations.
By the way, those are the only two mentions of the word "Hamas" in the speech.
There is no mention of Hezbullah in the speech. That's right, the organization that until 9/11/2001 had murdered more Americans than any other terror organization is no longer a terror organization according to Obama. I guess we saw that coming a few days ago.
UPDATE 9:02 PM
Welcome Daily Dish readers.
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 4:36 PM
2 Comments:
how can anyone be surprised at his words...........it's the man...noone knows anything about this man.he has never been vetted.we no know nothing about him but what he wrote in to books,at one can say he didn't write those books alone....if someone cares they ought to look for the ansawers and then that well tell us who this man is..............his friends are all anti israel.thats a fact.....his main money guy is george soros.some would say soros bought the white house and it's his policies obama is spouting......obama lies.............face it his word is not to be trusted...obama is no friend of israel and if the la times had released a video we would have all found that out...obama is dismantling america and all she stands forand not ne person over hear is changelling him other then rush limbaugh and you see the greif he gets.obama is out to weaken netanyahu.he wants a weaker government to work with so he can bully them.where does that leave israel.....how much does israel have to give up?????everytime they do they still get targeted with missles coming over from the palis..when do they have to give up something the palis...never with obama...........
Carl - Obama's moral equivalent rhetoric is lost on Israelis. There will never be a Palestinian state. All the wishing by Obama isn't enough to make it so - and not even whitewashing terrorist groups out of the picture will change the reality on the ground.
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