AP: Carter Blasts US Policy on Palestinians

[flpoljunkie]

Excerpts from the article below. Thank you, Jimmy Carter, for speaking out.

By SHAWN POGATCHNIK, Associated Press Writer 2 hours, 52 minutes ago

DUBLIN, Ireland - Former President Jimmy Carter accused the U.S., Israel and the European Union on Tuesday of seeking to divide the Palestinian people by reopening aid to President Mahmoud Abbas' new government in the West Bank while denying the same to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.

Carter, a Nobel Peace Prize winner who was addressing a human rights conference in Ireland, also said the Bush administration's refusal to accept Hamas' 2006 election victory was "criminal."

"All efforts of the international community should be to reconcile the two, but there's no effort from the outside to bring the two together," he said.

<>Carter said the U.S. and others supplied the Fatah-controlled security forces in Gaza with vastly superior weaponry in hopes they would "conquer Hamas in Gaza" — but Hamas routed Fatah in the fighting last week because of its "superior skills and discipline."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070620/ap_on_re_eu/carter_us_palestinians

[Clark2008]

1. Expect Carter to get called anti-Semitic in five, four, three, two...

I don't know why some pundits can't seem to separate policy disputes from racism.

[still_one]

2. Won't happen. What I do expect though is within 24 hours for Carter to appologize to bush

and take back any critisim he said of the administration

[Clark2008]

3. Really? You don't think so?

I heard Carter called all kinds of names (re: anti-Semitic) after he last blasted Israel's policies.

My husband's Jewish and he agrees with Carter. We can clearly separate a policy dispute from any intentional racism. I don't see why the punditry in this country can't.

[still_one]

5. No I don't. This isn't the same thing as his book, which employed a inflamatory title

and one sided discourse, thinking it would engage a positive dialog on the situation, which it didn't, and in addition, would only discuss the book with those who weren't particularly critical of his arguments

Also, I fail to see what point your husband being Jewish or not has to do with whether he agrees or disagrees with Carter.

[razorman]

4. I think Carter is off-base on this one.

Showing favoritism between Fatah and Hamas is akin to favoring someone who tells you he just doesn't like you over someone who says he is going to kill you. It's a matter of degree.

[Meshuga]

6. And if the "I'm going to kill you" crowd

...change their tone and actions to "I don't like you but I won't kill you", you would see the embargo being lifted for both sides. If it didn't get lifted then Carter would be no longer off-base on this one. But as it stands, I agree with you.

Having the notion that the US and Israel have any power to dissuade these two sides to come together and reconcile is laughable.

[still_one]

7. Holding up the food and fuel supplies was not a good thing

In addition, when Clinton left office in 2000, bush should have continued the dialog between the Israellis and the Palestinians, which the bush administration not only failed to do, but did just the opposite. Same thing they did with the Sunshine polciy between North and Sourth Korea, and so many other potential problems that could have been avoided, if the bush administration had continued where the CLinton administration left off

[Supersedeas]

8. Does Condi actually have a policy that she can articulate!?!