Jimmy Carter Update (And Why He Needs A Short Leash)

I wrote a few days ago regarding this subject in Rescind Carter's Nobel Prize and since then some people have had the same idea. Some have called for the revocation of Carter's passport, denying the former president any further international travel. The level of outrage over his one-man crusade to assign legitimacy to a terror group (Hamas) has been palpable. The failure of his "mission" has become more evident by the day.

On Saturday, shortly after Carter claimed to have won some sort of concession, wherein Hamas would "recognize Israel's right to exist", the group attacked a crossing into Gaza, killing two Israeli soldiers. At that time, when I wrote the above mentioned piece, Carter was touting his alleged success in the region as vindication for his refusal to acquiesce to the wishes of the State Department that he not engage in his quest for whatever it was he sought. Perhaps it was further accolades, above what he perceived he attained from the Oslo grant of his Peace Prize.

The very fact that his "acheivement" was instantaneously nullified by the Hamas attacks at the Gaza crossing had no apparent effect on his exuberance and feeling of self-fulfillment. He's still sparring with the Secretary Of State over whether or not he was asked to abort his trip, but the most compelling evidence of just how mis-guided his foray into the Middle East may have been is the reaction of the very people he purported to have been helping; the Palestinians themselves.

According to Palestinian foreign minister Riyad al-Malki , "President Carter came to the region thinking he could achieve something. Unfortunately president Carter left without anything concrete."

So even the people he came to "help" have nothing good to say about his visit. Maybe Hamas was happy about it, but should anyone care what Hamas thinks? Some would argue that Hamas is legitimate simply because they "won an election". Maybe the question should have something to do with how many people wish they could rescind their votes for the Hamas leadership.

While we're at it, a poll asking how many would vote for Jimmy Carter, knowing what they know now, would do so again...

Meanwhile, despite his intrusion into U.S. foreign policy, we still have the staus quo; Hamas will continue in its quest to rid the world of Israel. Great job, Jimmy.

-Woody

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