Zinni recommends Obama to engage with Hamas

December 30, 10:48 AMForeign Policy ExaminerAimee Kligman

Previous Next

1 comment Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the Foreign Policy Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

Retired General Zinni

If others have suggested, I have not heard it. But this is the first bit of good sense that has come through the grapevine this morning. Retired USMC General Anthony Zinni, who was also a special envoy to the Middle East would be a voice I'd listen to sooner than that of a Condoleeza Rice. He has an impressive resume when it comes to the Middle East. Get to know him better here.

I would like to bring back to the narrative a very sensible thing that president elect Obama said during his campaign, referring to Washington politics: "you cannot use the same approach time and time again, and expect a different outcome". Extremely well put. And very applicable to the situation in Gaza which shows no sign of abatement.

Until now, we have been trying to bolster Mahmoud Abbas and his Fatah party without great success; we have ignored the fact that Hamas leaders won in a democratically held election. We never entertained negotiating or talking to Hamas directly, or through third party talks. And we have supported Israel's 2006 invasion of Lebanon, which logistically was a disastrous war and did not achieve its objectives. We are now repeating the same behavior with this latest assault. 

General Zinni stated that Obama needs to engage Hamas, rather sooner than later. Hamas controls the temperature of the degree of worldwide anti-semitism. It is counterproductive to ignore a force that was chosen in fact by the Palestinian people to lead it. Additionally, Zinni was quoted as saying: "You make a commitment that no matter what happens, you'll stick with it. We have enough agreements in principle that never worked out. I would say -- start from the beginning, be determined, stick with it and don't repeat the mistakes of the past and the processes of the past that did not work."

I hope that Obama's ears are open to this idea. It certainly fits with his change agenda.