Carter Gives A Terrorist a Hug--And Pays His Respects To Another Murderer Of Americans

Carter had the opportunity to give a terrorist a hug:

Former President Jimmy Carter embraced a leading Hamas figure Tuesday, according to participants in a meeting that infuriated Israeli officials already upset by Carter's freelance Mideast peace mission.

So Carter has gone ahead to embrace and honor murderers of Americans both current and past. He has honored the same Hamas that is behind the murder of Americans, while Charles Schumer has called for Carter's new buddies to be extradited for those murders.

But Carter could not pass up the chance to pay his respects to his other terrorist friend:

Carter also laid a wreath at the grave of Yasser Arafat, whom the Bush administration and many Israelis blame for the breakdown of peace talks seven years ago and the violence that followed.

That's the same Arafat who ordered the murder of American diplomats, as the State Department website recounts:

In the early evening hours of 1 March 1973, eight Black September Organization (BSO) terrorists seized the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Khartoum as a diplomatic reception honoring the departing United States Deputy Chief of Mission (DCM) was ending. After slightly wounding the United States Ambassador and the Belgian Charge d'Affaires, the terrorists took these officials plus the United States DCM, the Saudi Arabian Ambassador and the Jordanian Charge d'Affaires hostage. In return for the freedom of the hostages, the captors demanded the release of various individuals, mostly Palestinian guerrillas, imprisoned in Jordan, Israel and the United States.

The Khartoum operation was planned and carried out with the full knowledge and personal approval of Yasir Arafat, Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), and the head of Fatah.

...Negotiations with the BSO terrorist team were conducted primarily by the Sudanese Ministers of Interior and of Health. No effort was spared, within the capabilities of the Sudanese Government, to secure the freedom of the hostages. The terrorists extended their deadlines three times, but when they became convinced that their demands would not be met and after they reportedly had received orders from Fatah headquarters in Beirut, they killed the two United States officials and the Belgian Charge. Thirty-four hours later, upon receipt of orders from Yasir Arafat in Beirut to surrender, the terrorists released their other hostages unharmed and surrendered to Sudanese authorities. [emphasis added]

But Carter does not play favorites--he doesn't much care who his favorite peace partners have killed, so by all means let's include the murderer of Lebanese leaders:

"Since Syria and Hamas will have to be involved in a final peace agreement, they have to be involved in discussions that lead to final peace," Carter said Tuesday.

In an interview with James Welsh who heard Arafat issue the order:

It was a long time ago but this man did order the deaths of two U.S. diplomats. We taped his words. I guess there is nothing that can be done now but I often wonder why Yasser Arafat's image and continued presence on the world scene is more important than simple justice for two dedicated diplomats who were murdered thirty years ago.

Perhaps Jimmy Carter should answer that question.

If you can really judge a person by the company they keep...

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