Top officials urge dialogue with Hamas

[Scurrilous]

<snip>

"Nine former senior US officials and one current adviser are urging the Obama administration to talk with leaders of Hamas to determine whether the militant group can be persuaded to disarm and join a peaceful Palestinian government, a major departure from current US policy.

The bipartisan group, which includes economic recovery adviser Paul A. Volcker and former national security advisers Brent Scowcroft and Zbigniew Brzezinski, made the recommendation in a letter handed to Obama days before he took office, according to Scowcroft.

The group is preparing to meet this weekend to decide when to release a report outlining a proposed US agenda for talks aimed at bringing all Palestinian factions into the Mid east peace process, according to Henry Siegman, the president of the US/Middle East Project, who brought the former officials together and said the White House promised the group an opportunity to make its case in person to Obama.

Talking to Hamas, which the State Department has designated a terrorist organization, would mark a dramatic reversal for the US government. Longstanding US policy has stipulated that before engaging in any talks, Hamas must renounce violence, recognize Israel, and agree to all previous agreements signed by Palestinian negotiators.

"I see no reason not to talk to Hamas," said Scowcroft, who was national security adviser to President George H.W. Bush.

Siegman said the letter, which was handed to Obama by Volcker but has not been made public, said the administration should "at least explore the possibility" that Hamas, which took control of the Palestinian territory of Gaza after elections in 2006, might be willing to transition into a purely political party and join with its rival, Fatah, which holds the Palestinian presidency in the West Bank.

The White House did not respond immediately last night to requests for comment on the letter. Volcker was unavailable for comment."

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British politicians meet Hamas leader in Syria

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3686264,00.html

Six-member delegation meets Khaled Mashaal in effort to urge British government to talk to Hamas

<snip>

"A delegation of British politicians pressing their government to hold direct talks with Hamas has met with the Palestinian group's exiled leader, Khaled Mashaal, in Syria.

Britain, along with the United States and the European Union, considers Hamas a terrorist organization and refuses to have talks with the group, which has controlled the Gaza Strip since 2007.

The six politicians include Labor Party member Clare Short and Jenny Tonge, a parliamentarian who was fired as her party's spokeswoman on children's issues after expressing understanding for Palestinian suicide bombers in 2004.

Short told reporters in Syria on Saturday that the aim of the visit was to urge the British government to talk to Hamas in the interest of peace."

[bemildred]

1. Hamas will disarm right after the IDF does.

Negotiations will go nowhere at all on that basis.