Hamas’s diplomatic openings

I have a lot more to blog about Hamas. Including this news report that Tom Pickering, a former US Under-Secretary of State and ambassador to the UN, met with Mahmoud Zahhar, foreign minister in the PA government that was elected in 2006, in Switzerland recently.
But I’m finishing my preps for my presentation on regional implications of the US withdrawal from Iraq.
More later.

4 thoughts on “Hamas’s diplomatic openings”

  1. Abbas Orders al-Jazeera Ban in West Bank
    Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas today declared a total ban on the al-Jazeera television station, preventing it from operating in the West Bank and ordering security forces to raid its offices in Ramalllah.
    The Israeli government placed an “embargo” on the station during its war on the Gaza Strip, and publicly condemned them for showing photos of the destruction in Gaza.
    The United States government has also been an opponent of the station, particularly during the Bush Administration when President Bush reportedly had to be talked out of attacking its Qatari headquarters by British Prime Minister Tony Blair. The US blamed al-Jazeera for a negative international image of the Iraq War, and the US-backed Iraqi government even banned the station in 2004.
    One, two, three… that’s how elementary its gonna be… it’s easy… like takin’ candy from a baby.
    If you have somehow deluded yourself into thinking that Abbas is anything but the stooge of US/Israel… wake up.
    But you don’t want to wake up, do you. You want to sleep the Obama sleep… oblivions…
    Here, drink this Kool-Aid. Sleep the sleep of the dead.

  2. I have a little more info concerning the Hamas visit in Geneva. Switzerland granted them a visa in order to assist at “an experts’ meeting” organized by the International Crisis Group in Geneva. At that meeting, they met with personnal of the “Fourth Division”(*) of the Swiss Foreign Minister “at the expert level” (aka not at the diplomatic level) and with people of the United States. That is what our foreing minister, Micheline Calmy-Rey stated yesterday 15th of July in a radio interview (French language, Real player link; the interesting part starts at 5:24 and ends at 7:43). That is probably where they met with Thomas R. Pickering, “a former undersecretary of state and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations”, as is announced in the Washington Post report which Helena just linked.
    (*) The Fourth Division depends of the “State Secretariat” and its activities are described thusly :
    Political Affairs Division IV, Human Security: Peace, Human Rights, Humanitarian Policy, Migration is responsible for implementing measures to promote peace and strengthen human rights in the world. The concept of human security focuses on the safety of individual human beings and protecting people against political violence, war and acts of arbitrary violence. It is based on the recognition that peace policy, human rights policy and humanitarian policy are closely interlinked.deals with Political Affairs concerning the Human Security. More info on the activities of the IVth division can be found there (English link).

  3. One interesting aspect of the ban on Al Jazeera is that included at the meeting at which, according to the AlJaz report, Abbas, Dahlan and Sharon discussed the assassination of Arafat was a US representative.
    It is counterintuitive to posit the idea that the Cheney assassination programme, (which of course never existed and doesn’t call for a conressional investigation)was in any way related.
    Where is Senator Church when he is really needed?

Comments are closed.