As has been pointed out in previous posts, something is going very badly wrong with the Bush administration. First, the President fawned over Mahmoud Abbas even though he has done nothing to eradicate the infrastructure of Palestinian terror and incitement. Now, we learn that the US is preparing to deal with Hamas, despite its being on its own list of proscribed terror organisations. As Ha’aretz reports:

‘The Bush administration is showing signs of easing its hard-line approach toward Hamas, in response to the militant group's rising political clout in the Palestinian territories and appeals for flexibility from European allies, officials and diplomats said. The White House acceded to Hamas running candidates in Palestinian elections, even though it has refused to disarm and Washington lists it as a major terrorist organization. ‘Officials said they may be open to contacts with some Hamas political affiliates and left open the possibility of dealing with the group if it gave up weapons and ended violence, in contrast to past calls for its total dismantlement. U.S. officials and diplomats cast any shift as pragmatic: Hamas-funded social services are popular with many Palestinians; it is winning local races and was expected to make a strong showing in newly postponed parliamentary elections, and some Hamas-backed politicians and affiliates are seen as moderates.

’The shift also follows a behind-the-scenes push by European allies, including Britain and France, for Washington to drop its call to dismantle Hamas completely. European officials warned Washington that doing so would be a "disaster" for Palestinians who benefit from Hamas aid, sources said."There is now a realization that they (Hamas) do have a role to play ... that if you can bring them into the political fold, then you'll be marginalizing the military elements of those groups," said a European diplomat.’

Reality check — this is the same appeasement of terror that so disastrously legitimised Arafat, who was embraced by the so-called civilised world because he was the spokesman for the Palestinians. The correct response should have been to say that while the Palestinians were represented by a terrorist they were not entitled to be treated as negotiating partners and would not be until and unless they turned into a democracy. The rise and rise of Palestinian terror was a direct result of the world’s embrace of Arafat. This was supposed to be the key lesson of the Bush doctrine, that the civilised world does not treat with terror, period; and that any regime that wants to be included in the family of nations must first embrace democracy and turn itself into a free society governed by the rule of law. Yet here are the Americans busy tearing up their own doctrine and preparing to grant respectful status to a body whose aim is the destruction of Israel, the genocide of the Jews and holy war upon the west. Ha’aretz reports:

‘The shift also follows a behind-the-scenes push by European allies, including Britain and France, for Washington to drop its call to dismantle Hamas completely. European officials warned Washington that doing so would be a "disaster" for Palestinians who benefit from Hamas aid, sources said.'

"There is now a realization that they (Hamas) do have a role to play ... that if you can bring them into the political fold, then you'll be marginalizing the military elements of those groups," said a European diplomat…A senior administration official said: "We're not acquiescing. We do not deal with ... terrorists." But he added: "How do you pursue this without limiting democratic choices?"

For heaven’s sake — these are not democratic choices. If Hamas wins elections, that will not turn it into a democracy. Democracy is about more than winning elections. It is about establishing the institutions of a free society. Without that, the whole thing is a meaningless charade. If the people vote into power a regime committed to the genocide of the Jews and holy war against the west, then those people have to be considered a terrorist entity themselves and treated as such. As for the idea that by bringing Hamas into the political fold the military element will be marginalised, what planet are these people living on? Ever heard of Sinn Fein/IRA and the fools they have made of the British government who subscribed to precisely this fallacy and who have now produced a mafia state in Northern Ireland in which gangsterism has driven out the rule of law?

What exactly is going on in Washington?