Analysis: Hamas Victory a Message for Bush

[deadparrot]

WASHINGTON - After making democracy a defining marker for American foreign policy, President Bush got a jolting message from Palestinian voters: Be careful what you wish for.

The United States promoted the democratic Palestinian election that now has produced an upset victory for the militant Islamic group Hamas. The election could install an organization the United States considers terrorist in place of a Palestinian leadership that, while weak, was pledged to work with Israel and with Washington.

The administration is caught between Bush's clarion rhetoric about spreading liberty even in unlikely places and the reality that self-determination can yield results that appear counter to U.S. interests. That's a challenge the United States may have to confront someday in other places as well, including Iraq, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Central Asia, the Balkans and — closer to home — South America.

"We in the United States have got to get used to the idea that other countries are going to have changes, and they may not be ones that" traditional Western thinking can readily grasp, said Council on Foreign Relations Mideast expert Judith Kipper.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060126/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush_palestinians

[hopeisaplace]

1. or maybe, HAMAS Victory convenient for Bush...all hell could break loose

...in comes the US to save the day?

[iamjoy]

3. He's Certainly Handling It All Wrong

but that's just my amatuer opinion.

He's talking all tough about how we don't deal with terrorists and you can't have peace partners if one doesn't think the other should exist. True perhaps, but all that does is fuel the fire. The Palestinians may have voted for Hamas for reasons other than hostility to Israel, just like some Americans keep voting for Republicans because they like the way they handle the war on terror (just as an example) but are Pro-Choice and Pro-Environment. Well, it's a package deal.

Perhaps a better way to have handled this would have been, "We're glad the Palestinians exercised their rights of democracy, and dissatisfied with their government, voted in new leaders. We hope Hamas will denounce terrorism and recognize Israel's right to exist so we can continue to work towards a meaningful and lasting peace." Couple that with a statement about how Israel is our ally...

What would be wrong with that? It's giving Hamas a chance to come to the table. Personally, I'm a little worried about the situation, but can't see what can be gained by rattling our saber - that only encourages defiance.

[hopeisaplace]

4. somehow I'll bet this admin will link Iran and Hamas to further

the Iran debate...just guessing. Who knows though.
Gheesh anything is possible these days.

[Mz Pip]

2. Be careful what you wish for

You may get what you wish for but not what you want.

The vision of a democratic mid-east may come to pass. It just may not look like the democratic vision Bush had in mind.

Mz Pip
:dem:

[BurningDog]

5. I expect the first election after we're out of Iraq

to go the exact same way.