FRIENDS OF JIMMY CARTER

Friends of Jimmy Carter (WSJ-BOTW)
In a Newsweek interview, a Mideast leader has kind words for a former president and several other prominent Americans:

You weren't encouraged at all by the recommendations of the Baker-Hamilton report?

[President] Bush ignored the Baker-Hamilton report and the positions and reports of a number of American figures and former officials, such as [former national-security adviser Zbigniew] Brzezinski, [Council on Foreign Relations president] Richard Haass and former U.S. president Carter. Bush continues to adopt the same philosophy: if power does not succeed in achieving the objective, then more power will.

Still, some Democrats like Nancy Pelosi and Steny Hoyer seem to be making an effort to reach out.

I believe [Pelosi's recent visit to Syria] was a step in the right direction. Wise people in the U.S. should realize that Israel and the fundamentalist American conservative right have both become burdens on the interests and the future of America.

And who's saying this? Khaled Meshal, described by Newsweek as the "most powerful figure" in the terrorist group Hamas. With friends like these . . .

JIMMY CARTER'S FRIENDS

Hate Campus Invites Carter (LGF)
The University of California Irvine, where the Muslim Students Union called for jihad and genocide following a disrupted speech by Daniel Pipes, has invited America’s disgraceful Israel-hating ex-president Jimmy Carter to the campus: Jimmy Carter to visit UC Irvine, talk with students.

This despicable human being should be shunned; instead he’s being feted by academia and used by radical Islamic front groups to promote their demonization of Israel. This is going to make the already appalling, out of control situation at UC Irvine much worse.

UPDATE at 4/28/07 8:58:44 am:

Alan Dershowitz writes about Jimmy Carter’s connections to the absolutely insane Arab “think tank” known as The Zayed Centre for Coordination and Follow-up: The Real Jimmy Carter.

LGF was one of the first to expose this vile organization, in the months following the September 11 attacks. But we shouldn’t forget that Jimmy Carter was not the only American politician to associate with The Zayed Centre.

You might have heard of some of the others: former president Bill Clinton, former vice president Al Gore, former secretary of state James Baker, and President George W. Bush’s brother, Neil Bush.

The corruption goes deep.

RICHARDSON WOULD MAKE JIM BAKER MID-EAST ENVOY

The B-word
What did it mean when New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson said recently that he'd appoint former Secretary of State James Baker as a special envoy to the Middle East peace process? Either that Richardson wants to pressure Israel for concessions, or that he isn't really as savvy about international affairs as he purports to be, Aluf Benn writes. (Ha'aretz)

U.S. AGREES TO MEETING WITH IRAN AND SYRIA

IT LOOKS AS IF BUSH HAS SURRENDERED TO THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF JIM BAKER'S IRAQ STUDY GROUP AFTER ALL. WE'LL BE NEGOTIATING WITH THE SPONSORS OF TERRORISM WITHOUT PRECONDITIONS. LET'S HOPE HE DOESN'T FOLLOW BAKER'S RECOMMENDATION TO THROW ISRAEL UNDER THE BUS.

U.S. Agrees to Meeting with Iran and Syria - David Ignatius
The Bush administration has agreed to sit around a negotiating table with official representatives of Iran and Syria next month - as part of a planned regional conference in Baghdad to discuss ways to stabilize Iraq. A senior State Department official said Monday that it wasn't likely there would be separate bilateral meetings with Iran or Syria. (Newsweek/Washington Post)

SYRIA PLEDGES TO CONTINUE SPONSORING HAMAS AND HEZBOLLAH

Syria keeps up Hamas, Hezbollah support (JTA)
Syria’s leadership pledged to continue sponsoring Hamas and Hezbollah. President Bashar Assad made the declaration this week in a speech to his ruling Ba’ath Party, reiterating his view that the Palestinian and Lebanese terrorist groups are engaged in legitimate “resistance” against Israel.

Syrian peace overtures toward Israel in the wake of last year’s Lebanon war have stirred speculation that Damascus could cut ties with Hamas and Hezbollah as part of a bid to realign itself with U.S. interests in the region.

But there has been no sign of this, and the United States — which accuses Syria of fostering the Iraqi insurgency — has come out against the idea of renewed talks between Damascus and Jerusalem.

JIM BAKER'S AND THE IRAQ STUDY GROUP'S RECOMMENDATION THAT WE LOOK TO SYRIA FOR HELP DEFEATING TERRORISTS SEEMS DUMBER BY THE DAY.

RICE: ISRAEL-PALESTINIAN PEACE WON'T HELP IN IRAQ

Rice: Israel-Palestinian Peace Won't Help in Iraq - Yitzhak Benhorin
There is no correlation between efforts to promote negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians and the troubles in Iraq, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told the House Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday. "I don't wish to suggest that we think if we do that (resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict), we're going to get something for it in some other part of the diplomacy," Rice said. Secretary Rice clarified that the Bush administration does not share the views of the Baker-Hamilton Iraq Study Group whose report recommends that Washington advance the Israeli-Palestinian peace process as a precursor to stabilizing the situation in Iraq.

However, the U.S. does plan to launch a fresh diplomatic initiative aimed at reinvigorating the peace process. Rice, Prime Minister Olmert, and PA leader Abbas are scheduled to meet on February 19 to discuss what an autonomous Palestinian state would look like. "There are elements that we simply never talk about, like Palestinian capacity to govern a state," Rice said. (Ynet News)

IRAQ STUDY GROUP ADVISERS SURPRISED, UPSET BY ISRAEL-IRAQ LINKAGE

Iraq Study Group Advisers Surprised, Upset by Israel-Iraq Linkage - Nathan Guttman (Forward)
Several advisers to the bipartisan Iraq Study Group were surprised and upset by the decision of panel leaders to argue that American success in Iraq depends in part on progress in resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

In interviews, several of the experts who advised the panel said they were shocked that the Israeli-Palestinian issue was included in the final report, since they had been told not to address the matter in their recommendations.

One staff member argued that making such a linkage was "stupid" and pointed to Edward Djerejian, a former ambassador to Syria and Israel with close ties to James Baker, as the person who inserted the language regarding Israel.

Another staff member told of a joke that was made when the issue came up: "Does anyone think that if we solve the [Israeli-Palestinian] conflict, the insurgent in Fallujah will say 'Great, now I can put back my AK-47 and go home.'"

Israeli Envoy Rejects Mideast "Linkage" - David R. Sands
Foreign-policy crises in Iraq and Iran will not be eased by pressuring Israel to cut a peace deal with the Palestinians, Israeli Ambassador Sallai Meridor said in an interview Thursday.

"Frankly, we don't see any connection between our dispute with the Palestinians and the level of violence on Haifa Street in Baghdad," said Meridor. "And there is no linkage in my mind between the Israeli-Palestinian question and what Ahmadinejad is planning for the region and the world by pursuing a nuclear weapon." "We think that, yes, there is a convergence of interests of many Arab countries in the region and Israel today in recognition of the threat to the entire region from Iran," he said. "Whether that can be translated into action and a new alliance, we will have to see."

"Nobody is more interested in a real two-state compromise than Israel, as we have demonstrated time and time again," Meridor said. "The real problem is that, right now, we don't have a real interlocutor on the Palestinian side willing and capable of delivering an agreement that meets basic international principles." Meridor said Israel was taking a "calculated risk" in allowing the buildup of security forces of Mahmoud Abbas, locked in a bloody power struggle with the elected Hamas government. (Washington Times)