What a pathetic stooge

[Don Corleone]

Talk about pissing what little crediblity you have left in the world away...

So former U.S. President James Earl Carter recently visited Israel, Palestine and Syria. The stated purpose of the trip was to 'engage all sides', but in reality, the purpose of the trip was for somebody in the West to engage Hamas in high-level talks.

The governments of Israel and the US patently asked Carter not to make the visit. Hamas is one of the leading terror organizations in the world. They are dedicated to the destruction of the state of Israel, and they've made various statements on the right of Jews to exist anywhere.

So, Carter, the ultimate egomaniac, tells the State Department to pound sand. He goes anyway, and holds a meeting of equals with Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal. Carter then proceeds to announce about how he's made progress, and Hamas will now agree to recognize the right of Israel to exist, if it passed a referendum among the Palestinian people.

As if to give the final F-u to his little prison-ho, Meshaal held a press conference three hours later to say that Hamas would not recognize the right of Israel to exist.

Great peacemaker, or pathetic fool who doesn't realize his time has come and gone? Let's review:

Hamas got: A former president of the United States to come lick their boots in front of the world's media.
Carter got: His name in the paper's again?

[Mikeus Caesar]

Heaven forbid we try to engage in dialogue to end the constant slaughter, even if it doesn't get us anywhere...

Because obviously the only way to end the constant slaughter is turn Hamas into glass and let the Israeli government have their way.

[Ronin]

how dare he try to come up something that might actually turn out to be a solution?!?!?!?!?!

the nerve of that man!!

I mean...it´s obvious that the right solution for this problem is just for both sides to keep blowing each other's up in new and ingenious ways....I mean...that has worked in the past right?

[Geoffrey S]

There's no way the violence will end as long as terrorists such as Hamas are the political mainstream among Palestinians. Carter attempting to lend political credibility to such groups is not helpful at all.

[Don Corleone]

Heaven forbid we try to engage in dialogue to end the constant slaughter, even if it doesn't get us anywhere...

Because obviously the only way to end the constant slaughter is turn Hamas into glass and let the Israeli government have their way.

how dare he try to come up something that might actually turn out to be a solution?!?!?!?!?!

the nerve of that man!!

I mean...it´s obvious that the right solution for this problem is just for both sides to keep blowing each other's up in new and ingenious ways....I mean...that has worked in the past right?

Did you guys read the article? The Palestinian foreign minister said the meeting did absolutely nothing. Meshaal went out of his way to hold a press conference to contradict what Carter said after the meeting. How is that making progress? How is that working out a solution?

[Tribesman]

Did you guys read the article? The Palestinian foreign minister said the meeting did absolutely nothing. Meshaal went out of his way to hold a press conference to contradict what Carter said after the meeting. How is that making progress? How is that working out a solution?

Errrrrr...Don it was talks about talks , you know like clinton and Blair and Bush Reagan and Thatcher and Major all had with terrorists , denying all the time that they would negotiate with terrorists and all the time the terrorists straight away making claims that they were not going to compromise on their demands .
Meanwhile Isreal who doesn't talk to terrorists is talking to Hamas about talks through Egypt and America is talking through Egypt and Saudi Arabia to Hamas about talks .

they've made various statements on the right of Jews to exist anywhere.

yeah yeah yeah and only the Mormons will exist at the end of days ..or was that Jews or Christians or pastafarians

[HoreTore]

I can't say that this is having less effect than the official US and israel policy has...

[Viking]

I can't say that this is having less effect than the official US and israel policy has...

What bollocks, the Israeli policy has lead lead to decades of terrorism and countless dead bodies on both sides. It's pretty decent by sadist measures.

[Ronin]

Did you guys read the article? The Palestinian foreign minister said the meeting did absolutely nothing. Meshaal went out of his way to hold a press conference to contradict what Carter said after the meeting. How is that making progress? How is that working out a solution?

it´s called trying....nobody said he was successful.

[Adrian II]

Guys, guys, this is how American Christians treat eachother.

In another thread Dave wrote that Carter's volunteer building project was 'building homes for useless leaches'.

Now his effort to get talks about talks going (isn't that how the spiral of violence was broken in Northern Ireland?) is called 'pissing away credibility'.

Can't be long now before someone calls the Salvation Army a '******* waste of good money'.

[Vladimir]

it´s called trying....nobody said he was successful.

Just like I'm trying not to laugh.

Beirut you're missing his point entirely. At best Carter is communicating from a position of weakness. Communication with an enemy can also be perceived as a weakness and the meaningless platitude for change sounds like an Obama speech. Change to what? It also makes you sound like the people Adrian sites in his last paragraph. If during a period of conflict you're able to force you opponent to the negotiating table, it is an admission of weakness on his part. I suggest you read about the negotiations between the US and Vietnam in Paris. The shape and size of the table matters.

Carter has noting to negotiate with other than goodwill.