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February 2, 2009
Exclusive: Jimmy Carter Thinks ‘Hamas can be trusted!’ Is He Crazy?
“Distrust and caution are the parents of security” - Benjamin Franklin
Just when you had hoped Jimmy Carter would be satisfied building homes for the homeless and abandon his passport, living in quiet solitude in his fortress of solace…his namesake “peace” center…here he goes again, acting as the interminable unappointed diplomat.
Upon returning from his meetings with Hamas, he says he can trust Hamas.
Was I hallucinating? If by “trust” he means don’t turn your back on them unless you are wearing the latest Kevlar ® body armor, or have SEAL Team 6 protecting you, then yeah, I’ll trust them, too. But if he is referring to the same type of fine friendly folks he so successfully achieved a peaceful settlement with in Tehran to get our hostages back…oh wait, that was Ronald Reagan who got our citizens back. They were hostages under President Carter but they were free citizens under President Reagan.
Jimmy Carter is the crazy uncle who just won’t go away.
Were we listening to Jimmy Carter because it was a slow news day? The Today Show invited him because…why? Personally, there are more enlightened and entertaining guests, no? Blago got impeached. He’s entertaining! But Jimmy Carter as PR man for Hamas? Haven’t the Jews suffered enough? It was bad enough that 60 Minutes shamelessly pandered to Hamas and the Palestinian constituency, abandoning what was left of any semblance that the once venerable news show is now anything more than a sham and leftist propaganda tool. The anti-Israel bias on 60 Minutes was disgraceful. 60 Minutes accuses Jewish settlers of taking from Palestinians the high ground. Too bad their show didn’t. The program was incendiary, and blatantly anti-Israel. They virtually accused the Jews of apartheid. Never calling Hamas out on their senseless murder of innocent civilians, instead 60 Minutes provided cover for the Palestinians and perpetrated the myth that they are victims. Going so far as to be needlessly sarcastic to Israeli Defense Force (IDF) soldiers, Bob Simon asked them inane questions packaged as accusations.
As if the reporter (loosely used term) taking up the banner of Palestine instead of evenly presenting the issue wasn’t bad enough, or that increasingly campuses around the United States are openly denigrating Israel while supporting Gaza, or that the vast majority of Europe continues to denounce the Jewish State (could it be because of their increasingly vocal and violent Muslim populations?) now the Jews have to endure Jimmy Carter. Speak about cruel and unusual; isn’t there an article of the Geneva Convention that bans exposure to the Man from Plains?
Last year, Jimmy Carter was interviewed in USA Today, during which he stated that then-Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was "mistaken" and "misinformed" about warnings she says her office gave advising him not to meet with Hamas. Mind you, the U.S. government has declared Hamas a terrorist organization. Can’t imagine why – could it be that they kill innocent civilians – Jews and Palestinians? Could it be that they plan attacks on peaceful cities and a legitimate country – Israel? Could it be that they are sponsored by Jimmy’s old friends – another group of people he trusted…Iran? You gotta hand it to old Jimmy; he never misses an opportunity to get it wrong. Unfortunately while he indulges his vanity and follows the utopian fantasy in the purple haze of his own opinions, people get hurt in the real world.
But the real problem of Jimmy Carter, and there are many – don’t believe me, review the train wreck that was his presidency – beyond his über naïveté, his total denial of facts, his inability to recognize evil when it sits across the room from him or his ceaseless efforts to be revered as the worlds peacemaker, is the validation, the imprimatur his presidential stature affords to Hamas – a pathology, an evil and an adversary that already for reasons that beg incredulity, continue to garner widespread support here and abroad.
Perhaps reading my mind, or that of anyone who can convert oxygen to carbon dioxide, Carter further asserts in the Today interview "Hamas was not legitimized by my visit. They were legitimized by the fact that their people voted for them to be the ruling party in their parliament." Hmm, a former United States President talking about Hamas on the Today Show and obviously being uncomfortable at the suggestion that they are a terrorist group. “They’ve done some bad things” he stammered when pressed, although his first response was an anemic attempt to pare the assertion.
Today’s Meredith Vieira continued the discussion. Referring to his two visits with Hamas – their senior leadership in Damascus, and in Gaza – “you've been criticized for that, sir, because Hamas is considered a terrorist group.”
Carter’s reply: “By some, they are, and they've done some bad things. But for instance, the year before we had the cease-fire, that I helped to orchestrate last June, the 19th, there was one Israeli killed by rockets. And on an average, 49 Palestinians killed every month during that previous year. And as soon as the cease-fire went into effect, Hamas obeyed it completely. There was no serious rocket fire during the next four or five months.”
No serious rocket fire? Apparently on top of Jimmy Carters other deficiencies – lack of foreign policy smarts, inability to negotiate, and an uncanny resemblance to Neville Chamberlain, he is math and history challenged. Some estimate several hundred rockets were fired into Israel from the “trustworthy” Hamas during the ceasefire (any ceasefire). Perhaps Miss Lillian never read him George Santayana.
“Even peace may be purchased at too high a price.” – Benjamin Franklin
If peace was so easily had just by sending Jimmy Carter, we’d have Christmas all year long. But his brand of peace – appeasement, trust without verification and continuously believing virtuous words are a substitute for virtuous action – is a roadmap to failure. And the road of Jimmy Carter diplomacy is littered with bodies and victims.
Meredith Vieira: “Do you believe that Hamas can be trusted?”
Jimmy Carter: “Yes, I do. I think they can, because of their own self-interest, not because they're benevolent, or kind, or that sort of thing. But yes, I do. I think they can. And they've never betrayed any commitment that they've made to me”
Wow, I can sleep better. I’m sure the Knesset just declared a holiday. Furlough the IDF; Jimmy the Peacemaker has spoken. Right! Think three words: ”Tehran Hostage Crisis!” Old JC…oh my gosh, that’s it…he has a Jesus Christ complex. Now I know why Miss Lillian gave him a first name starting with “J.” Seriously, this guy really wants to go down in history (and has said so) as a peacemaker. Problem is, he has picked the wrong team in the wrong arena…again. How anyone can give credence to or speak on behalf of a group that uses women and children as human shields, that will launch rockets deep into civilian territory or spend funds to buy weapons instead of medicine, it is beyond any rational thought.
To Vieira’s credit, she doesn’t let Mr. Carter slide. “But Hamas has said its goal is to destroy Israel. How can you involve them in a peace process when they said their goal is to destroy Israel? They don't recognize Israel.”
You have to love liberals when they are called out to face the “inconvenient truth” – consider his answer.
Carter: “I'm not here to defend Hamas, but to tell you what they have pledged to me, and publicly: That if any agreement is negotiated between Fatah leaders and Israel, that Hamas will accept the agreement if it's submitted to the Palestinian people in a referendum. And that's a very good step forward. And I think they will do that because of their own self-interest.”
Well duh…of course it is in their self interest – Israel shut down many of the tunnels into Gaza. Hamas needs time to rebuild them, and recreate the weapons supply lines.
What is most egregious are his further comments: “Hamas complied very thoroughly with the cease-fire agreement that I had worked out for the last June the 19th. For five months, there were no rockets fired until Israel did attack Gaza again on November 4th.”
Here we go again…blaming the Jews. And Carter doesn’t think he is a propaganda coup for Hamas? Al Jazeera must love this.
The most insidious aspects of Jimmy Carter’s actions are that he undermines the legitimacy of the Israeli cause, as well as that of the former Bush and possibly the Obama administration. And, in the process, he legitimizes Hamas. His endorsement provides political cover here and abroad for anti Israeli Palestinian efforts. Moreover, he is no longer the president. He is not even a special envoy…that is George Mitchell’s job.
Discussion
As written in my earlier FSM articles, “Aggressor Palestine, Defender Israel – There is No Moral Equivalence,” part one and part two, Israel faces enormous challenges, not the least of which is building public support. Their efforts with advertisements in which they ask the reader to consider what he or she would do if someone attacked their children made the plight of the Jews something we could all relate to. But those are baby steps compared to the journey Israel must make in countering the widespread pro Hamas, pro Palestinian bias in the media, in global cities and on college campuses.
Fair-minded Americans should not give 60 Minutes or CBS a pass. The network consistently gets it wrong. The Show is blatantly anti Israeli. Voice our opinion – pulling advertising, sending letters and emails of protest. We must hold the media accountable. Clearly with newspaper circulations being down, people are demonstrating their displeasure with media bias, and happily seeking alternative sources of credible information like FSM.
Our security is tied to the information we as a society are given. If the average citizen gets a world view from the mainstream media, we are all in trouble. Opinion is shaped by the media – George Soros and his ilk know and use this all too well to garner political support for their candidates. The pendulum is already swinging, largely the result of selective reporting by the media.
Holding universities accountable for their increasingly pro Palestinian, pro Hamas, anti Israeli ideology and indoctrination of students is another critical issue.
How to help Israel? Americans need to be more vocal in their support of Israel. Whether supporting the cause in the media with letters to the editor, blogs, advertisements, college and city rallies, communication with elected officials or financial support, our help is critical. Moreover, putting pressure on the Administration to continue public and vocal support of Israel as well as underscoring the importance of limiting the influence of Iran in the Israel – Gaza situation is essential. Iran has been and will continue to be the game changer. And if they are allowed to go nuclear, the change in the balance of power may be irreparable. More on that in a future article.
What can Israel do?
First, avoid the foolishness of land for peace. Remember appeasement is feeding others to the alligator in the hope it won’t be hungry when it gets to you. It sucks for those who became dinner. The Palestinians have not demonstrated an ability to be peaceful in the land they have, giving them more at the expense of Jews who have made it their home, is folly.
Second, be aggressive at targeting terrorists, tunnels and weapons trading.
Third, while it is admirable that Israel tries to take the moral high ground in this war, that high ground is built upon the bodies of dead Jews. Not suggesting fighting fire with fire and ceding their moral superiority, never the less Israel must make a more concerted effort to borrow a few pages from the Palestinian Media Playbook and attempt to win hearts and minds.
Fourth, Israel must provide a safe and logical rationale for nations to team up with them; this can be achieved by utilizing its significant intellectual capital. There are Muslim nations – neighbors that could benefit from the advances, technological and medical – that Israel is developing. In the book Emerging Markets Century, with the exception of Turkey and Israel, there are no corporations in the Middle East (or in Muslim nations) that meet the author’s criteria of emerging global leader. Even amid the rockets, Hamas-cide bombings, and being bordered by Lebanon/Syria (Hamas/Hezbollah), Israeli companies manage to make significant technological advances.
Israel is critical to U.S. security – they are a valuable friend. But even if these weren’t the case, from a decency perspective they should be protected. Decency – something Jimmy Carter professes to subscribe to suggests you protect folks who have done nothing but declare they will survive. Israel is the true victim, the target of misplaced hatred, the blame factor for failed Arab/Muslim regimes and a tiny nation trying to provide a safe haven for a people who have been hunted, tormented and killed for centuries – in Europe from the Inquisition to the Holocaust and in the Middle East.
Conclusion
“Hamas can be trusted!” Jimmy Carter has once again misplaced his trust, and support. If past performance is indicator of future events, any cease fire that he is associated with is doomed to failure. The only upside for Carter is that most cease fires between Israel and Palestine have been failures. But where he goes woefully wrong, as does the world, is giving moral equivalence to the two sides. Until and unless Hamas relinquishes its weapons or is held accountable for a breach in the ceasefire, coexistence is illusory. And surrendering weapons is unlikely for a militant group to accept. Given Hamas since 1987 has been dedicated to the extinction of Israel, does it seem reasonable they will change now? Perhaps Jimmy Carter should have asked Hamas to rewrite their mission statement as a sign of good faith. But that might offend his new friends.
Once again in his naïveté Jimmy Carter is a punch line for all but his most ardent supporters. The left enjoyed his interruptive antics when it embarrassed the Bush administration. Just how far the Obama crowd will tolerate Jimmy Carter interfering in Middle East diplomacy remains to be seen. Jimmy Carter was an abysmal failure as a President, but distinguished himself in Habitat for Humanity and his efforts to help the poor. President Bush 41 and President Clinton have found their niche – using their names, celebrity to raise awareness for important causes. Former presidents should stick to philanthropy – for the sake of our nation, and their reputations.
FamilySecurityMatters.org Contributing Editor Dr. Robin McFee is a physician and medical toxicologist. An expert in WMD preparedness, she is a consultant to government agencies, corporations and the media. Dr. McFee is a member of the Global Terrorism, Political Instability and International Crime Council of ASIS International. She has authored numerous articles on terrorism, health care and preparedness, and coauthored two books: Toxico-Terrorism by McGraw Hill and The Handbook of Nuclear, Chemical and Biological Agents, published by Informa/CRC Press.
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