Hamas Sends Regards

I guess once you open the door to talking with any regime, there's no telling who is going to come knocking at your door:

Hamas is ready to open talks with U.S. President-elect Barack Obama, who must deal with the Palestinian militant group if he wants to address the wider conflict in the Middle East, the group's leader said in an interview broadcast Saturday.

Khaled Mashaal said that Hamas is ready for dialogue with Obama and his new administration "on the basis that the American administration respects our rights and our options."

But apparently Hamas feels that they are the only ones who have any options:

..."The American administration, if they want to deal with the region, Palestine and the Arab-Israeli conflict, they have no other option than deal with Hamas because we are a real force on the ground, effective," Mashaal told Sky News from Damascus, Syria.

Based on conditions in Gaza, the force that Hamas exerts--and the only area in which they are effective--is terrorism. That being the case, when they demand that the US respect their rights and their options, it is clear that Hamas desperately wants to be considered a player to be reckoned with.

Obama cannot allow that.

Technorati Tag: Hamas.