Thursday, January 22, 2009

Hamas and Obama

Looking to Al Jazeera we find a report on President Obama's comments and the response from Hamas regarding the Gaza issue.

The article quotes the US President's remarks are during the ceremony appointing former Senator George Mitchell as US special envoy for the Middle East:
Obama said he was "deeply concerned" about the loss of life in Gaza and also reiterated the US view that Israel had a right to defend itself from Palestinian rocket attacks.

"It will be the policy of my administration to actively and aggressively seek a lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinians, as well as Israel and its Arab neighbours," Obama said.

"Now we must extend a hand of opportunity to those who seek peace. As part of a lasting ceasefire, Gaza's border crossings should be open to allow the flow of aid and commerce," Obama said.

Obama also reiterated the US backing for international demands made of the Hamas faction that governs Gaza: that it recognise Israel, end violence and agree to recognise previous peace agreements with Israel.

He also said the US would support efforts to end weapons smuggling across the Gaza border from Egypt.
The report includes this response from Hamas spokesman Osama Hamdan:
"I think this is an unfortunate start for President Obama in the region and the Middle East issue. And it looks like the next four years, if it continues with the same tone, will be a total failure."
The preceding two paragraphs in the report were:
Osama Hamdan, a Hamas spokesman, told Al Jazeera that Obama's remarks seemed to show that the US viewed the situation through "Israeli eyes".

"It seems that Obama is trying to repeat the same mistakes that George Bush made without taking into consideration Bush's experience that resulted in the explosion of the region instead of reaching stability and peace in it," he said.
While President Obama has promised a new beginning and an end to the Bush foreign policies, I am thinking that it is still going to be an uphill battle to achieve peace in the Middle East.

However, it isn't always about us.

Regards  --  Cliff

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