Jimmy Carter defends
Hamas meeting
By James Gordon Meek
Daily News Washington Bureau
Monday, April 14th 2008, 4:00 AM
WASHINGTON - Former President Jimmy
Carter Sunday defended his upcoming meeting with Hamas leaders, saying "at least someone" should talk peace with the extremists.
"I think that it's very important
that at least someone meet with the Hamas leaders to express their views, to ascertain what flexibility they have, to try
to induce them to stop all attacks against innocent civilians in Israel," Carter said on ABC's "This Week."
A political firestorm erupted when
Carter said he would talk with Hamas, which turned from terror tactics to politics and won a majority in 2006 parliamentary
elections in the Palestinian territories. The U.S. still considers Hamas a terrorist group.
Democratic presidential hopefuls Hillary
Clinton and Barack Obama each said they would never meet with Hamas, and the White House also criticized Carter.
"We think it is not useful for people
to be running to Hamas at this point and having meetings with Hamas," chided President Bush's national security adviser, Stephen
Hadley.
The controversial meeting will take
place during a swing through the Middle East, where Carter hopes to "promote peace in the region."
The Georgia Democrat won
the Nobel Peace Prize for his peace efforts during his presidency in the 1970s, and has met several times with Hamas in the
past.
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