DAMASCUS, Syria, April 10, 2008
Jimmy Carter To Meet With Hamas Leader
Carter Center Would Only Confirm The Former President Was Traveling To The Middle East
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Former President Jimmy Carter (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
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Interactive Mideast Conflict Events, key players and a history of the world's most unstable region.
The senior Hamas official in Syria told The Associated Press that Carter had sent an envoy to Damascus earlier, requesting a meeting with the militant group's officials, including exiled leader Khaled Mashaal.
Hamas "welcomed the request," said Mohammed Nazzal, who said the meeting would take place April 18.
Carter Center spokeswoman Deanna Congileo confirmed that Carter planned a trip to the Middle East at the end of the week but could not "confirm any specifics."
A press release from the center said the former Democratic president was to lead a study mission to Israel, the West Bank, Egypt, Syria, Saudi Arabia and Jordan as part of his "ongoing effort to support peace, democracy, and human rights in the region."
The statement said the visit would take place from Sunday until April 21.
"This is a study mission, and our purpose is not to negotiate, but to support and provide momentum for current efforts to secure peace in the Middle East," said Carter, according to the statement. "Our delegation has considerable experience in the region, and we go there with an open mind and heart to listen and learn from all parties."
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In Washington, the State Department said it had advised Carter against meeting any representative of Hamas.U.S. government policy is that Hamas is a terrorist organization and we don't believe it is in the interest of our policy or in the interest of peace to have such a meeting.
State Department spokesman Sean McCormack"U.S. government policy is that Hamas is a terrorist organization and we don't believe it is in the interest of our policy or in the interest of peace to have such a meeting," spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters.
He said the message had been conveyed directly to Carter in a phone call during the past week by Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs David Welch.
The Carter Center did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A Carter-Mashaal meeting would be the first public contact in two years between a prominent American figure and Hamas officials. In 2006, the Rev. Jesse Jackson met Mashaal during a visit to Syria.
© MMVIII The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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- THE JOB OF BALLBREAKING SHOULD LEFT TO PEOPLE WITH BALLS..jimmy stay home..
- Reply to this comment
- Redefine the Pro-Life Movement as, Pro-Life For Some Movement
Posted by j-whitman at 02:46 PM : Apr 12, 2008
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is that what why you support killing babies and sparing the life of criminals and terrorists at the same time???? NOW I GET IT - Reply to this comment
- Posted by j-whitman at 02:43 PM : Apr 12, 2008
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watch what you say..osama bin laden might fire you - Reply to this comment
- Posted by j-whitman at 02:50 PM : Apr 12, 2008
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to say ''what started terrorism" is a broad and complex question that has several factors..BUT I KNOW WHO SHOWED THESE ISLAMIC INSURGENTS THAT IT WORKS...
JIMMY CARTER - Reply to this comment
- The trouble with Jimmy Carter is that he is a "nice guy" (Hamas?????)...and "nice guys"...finish last...oh yes and while he''s busy being a "nice guy" he took the time to criticize the Russians and tell them that they should clean up their own home while ''homeless people'' are a rampant problem in our own country...The only thing he ever did good was The Camp David Accord which brought a peace treaty between Isreal and Egypt.
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- libsrweak,,,,, You still have no idea what the cause of the terrorism issue is, do you ????
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- Redefine the Pro-Life Movement as, Pro-Life For Some Movement
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- Floyd,,,, Elimnate these fringe religious idiots here who think waging genocide & apartheid killing men women & children to fulfill a biblical prophacy is a good idea.
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- Posted by RowdyTexan2 at 09:26 AM : Apr 12, 2008
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this mound of sh*t we call middle east pre-dates condi and the bush administration..AS A MATTER OF FACT..WE WERE DOING PRETTY GOOD till MR CARTER SHOWED THE WORLD THAT LIBERALS DO NOT HAVE THE BALLS TO DEAL WITH TERRORISM - Reply to this comment
- You eliminate the Israelis, you eliminate this problem. Simple.
Posted by FloydZepp at 06:42 AM : Apr 12, 2008
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hilter said the same thing...okay so how do you like it? gassed or just bury them alive? - Reply to this comment
- The fact is that Condi Rice and the Neocon regime has created this chaos in the Middle East and wants to continue it, obviously.
Good for Jimmie Carter! Condi-the-stupid is worthless unless she''s promoting oil deals. And she''s failed at that too, thank goodness, because Iraq is not buying their PSA agreements.
It''s time to step past the Neocon regime and let somebody that has an interest in peace start the peace process. - Reply to this comment
- I''d bet Albert Nobel spins in his grave every time that "Peace" prize is awarded in his name. Of course Jimmy''s in great company with Gore and Arafat.
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- Can this be considered giving ''aid and comfort'' to the enemy? As I understand it, that''s grounds for being charged with treason. Being a failed ex-president doesn''t protect him from the laws.
But I bet it never gets brought up in Congress or any liberal court. - Reply to this comment
- "Jimmy Carter -- Great leader, Nobel Prize for eforts in Israli Peace, Submarine Officer & the Evanglist who coined the phrase "Born Again"
Posted by j-whitman at 05:54 PM : Apr 11, 2008"
Don''t make me laugh. Nobel Prize? For WHAT? What Israeli peace? How many Camp David Peace Accords did he preside over, and how much terrorism did it stop? ZERO. He''s like Al Gore and his Nobel Prize. A feel-good award from a bunch of liberals patting themselves on the back for being so wise and intelligent, when they can''t even see their own noses on their faces. - Reply to this comment
- "Does Hamas do the Daniel Pearl thing? You know what I''''m talking about.
Considering that he (carter) has secret service privledges, is he going to be protected during his visit?
Posted by Glock4me at 10:56 PM : Apr 11, 2008"
As I understand it, the Secret Service is constrained by the same laws governing visiting or meeting with terrorist organizations (which Carter is ignoring). They cannot go there with Carter when he meets with a terrorist leader. Besides, it''s an even bet Sysria won''t let any Secret Service members into their country in the first place,
However, you can bet he''ll have private security. No matter what he says publicly (unless he''s an utter moron) he knows he''ll be in a dangerous place.
Why doesn''t CBS mention the letter House Democrats sent to Carter, telling him to cancel the trip because ''it would lend an air of credibility'' to Hamas if he meets with their terror organization leader? Even the Democrats recognize what a fatal mistake for their party THAT would be. - Reply to this comment
- Does Hamas do the Daniel Pearl thing? You know what I''m talking about.
Considering that he (carter) has secret service privledges, is he going to be protected during his visit? - Reply to this comment
- Jimmy Carter is a *********. www.theoandavirus.com
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- Jimmy Carter is about to do two terrible things. First, he is going to meet with terrorists in Syria. The second terrible thing is that he will return to the U.S.
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- Yep, it figured that a traitorous Jihadist-loving scumbag like j-whitman would LOVE a traitorous Jihadist-loving scumbag like Carter. Big F''in surprise THERE!
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- "we go there with an open mind and heart to listen and learn from all parties."======
If that''s the heart that Jimmy "lusted" in, he''d better not open it too much. Hamas has a pretty strict attitude about such things. - Reply to this comment
