Obama Less Squeamish About Afghanistan's "Hamas"

While Obama has not come out strongly against the terrorist group Hamas, there have been hints that he is willing to speak to them. In any case, Obama has no problem pouring $400 million of aid into Gaza, despite the fact that there is no way to keep the terrorists from benefiting.

But that is when we are talking about Israel. Just talk about Afghanistan, and the picture changes.


Now that the US has declared a deadline by which its troops will be withdrawing from the area, Afghanistan and Pakistan are in talks with the insurgents who are fighting the US troops. Not surprisingly, the Obama administration is in favor of the idea--to an extent. They are opposed to talks with the militia headed by Sirajuddin Haqqani, which is considered too brutal and refuse to support talks with that group.

What's the big deal?

Haqqani's adoption in recent years of suicide bombings and complex urban assaults has made his faction, based in Pakistan's North Waziristan tribal area, a top threat to military gains and political stability in Afghanistan.[emphasis added]

I suppose that the firing thousands of rockets at civilian area over the course of years pales in 'complexity' to what Haqqani is doing. That must be the reason that Obama has not come out openly against negotiating with Hamas, and supports Abbas as a moderate peace partners--this being the same Abbas who back in 2005 was still in Gaza, and yet:

Abbas even said that the Qassam rockets being fired from the Gaza Strip at Israel are "Israel's problem" and that he does not intend to interfere. "Let the Israelis deal with it," he said.

In fact, when it comes to Haqqani, the US is very insistent that despite the fact that they have made it very clear that they are clearing out

...the United States has made clear, the official said, that "we expect to be treated as full partners and not to be surprised."

Only Israel has to accept second-rate status in proximity talks that--unlike the US in Afghanistan--directly affect it.

At this point, does the US even consider Israel to be an independent, sovereign state?

Technorati Tag: Obama and Afghanistan and Haqqani and Hamas.