May 14: Taking Issue
I take issue with a writer who defended Jimmy Carter's actions.
Besides the fact Carter violated the Logan Act (a federal law forbidding unauthorized citizens from negotiating with foreign governments), if he is a God-fearing man as he claims he should have more respect for the Israeli state.
It seems everything he's done has an anti-Semitic odor to it. It's no longer his call to make - he ain't the prez anymore. It's the sitting president who maps America's foreign policy and designates surrogates to carry it out. Carter not only thumbs his nose at President Bush but grants Hamas legitimacy in the eyes of the world.
Only naivety thinks peace is possible with terrorists. Hamas' foreign minister, Mahmoud al-Zahar, in a Washington Post article, refers to the killings of innocent Israeli civilians as "resistance." Before they even sit down to negotiate, al-Zahar has conditions: withdrawal to 1967 borders, dismantling all Jewish settlements, complete Israeli withdrawals from the West Bank and Gaza Strip, abandonment of Israeli claims to Jerusalem, release of all Palestinian prisoners and an end to the Israeli blockade of Palestinian territories.
Hamas will continue to pound Israel daily with rockets, and al-Zahar demands Hamas be included in any political process without precondition.
Israel is not guilty of war crimes. They are not waging war. Hamas and all terrorists are waging war.
Jimmy Carter, the Arab Liberation Army, and others think this is a political issue, but the Bible is the key. Even with the separation of church and state crowd, America needs to be friends with Israel.
Lauri Dee Jones
Tyler
Tyler






