Ah Jimmah, Ever the Voice of Naivete and Stupidity

Don't Punish the Palestinians

By Jimmy Carter
Monday, February 20, 2006; Page A21

As the results of the recent Palestinian elections are implemented, it's important to understand how the transition process works and also how important to it are actions by Israel and the United States.

Although Hamas won 74 of the 132 parliamentary seats, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas retains the right to propose and veto legislation, with 88 votes required to override his veto. With nine of its elected members remaining in prison, Hamas has only 65 votes, plus whatever third-party support it can attract. Abbas also has the power to select and remove the prime minister, to issue decrees with the force of law when parliament is not in session, and to declare a state of emergency. As commander in chief, he also retains ultimate influence over the National Security Force and Palestinian intelligence.

After the first session of the new legislature, which was Saturday, the members will elect a speaker, two deputies and a secretary. These legislative officials are not permitted to hold any position in the executive branch, so top Hamas leaders may choose to concentrate their influence in the parliament and propose moderates or technocrats for prime minister and cabinet posts. Three weeks are allotted for the prime minister to form the cabinet, and a majority vote of the parliament is required for final approval.

The role of the prime minister was greatly strengthened while Abbas and Ahmed Qureia served in that position under Yasser Arafat, and Abbas has announced that he will not choose a prime minister who does not recognize Israel or adhere to the basic principles of the "road map." This could result in a stalemated process, but my conversations with representatives of both sides indicate that they wish to avoid such an imbroglio. The spokesman for Hamas claimed, "We want a peaceful unity government." If this is a truthful statement, it needs to be given a chance.

During this time of fluidity in the formation of the new government, it is important that Israel and the United States play positive roles. Any tacit or formal collusion between the two powers to disrupt the process by punishing the Palestinian people could be counterproductive and have devastating consequences.

Unfortunately, these steps are already underway and are well known throughout the Palestinian territories and the world. Israel moved yesterday to withhold funds (about $50 million per month) that the Palestinians earn from customs and tax revenue. Perhaps a greater aggravation by the Israelis is their decision to hinder movement of elected Hamas Palestinian Legislative Council members through any of more than a hundred Israeli checkpoints around and throughout the Palestinian territories. This will present significant obstacles to a government's functioning effectively. Abbas informed me after the election that the Palestinian Authority was $900 million in debt and that he would be unable to meet payrolls during February. Knowing that Hamas would inherit a bankrupt government, U.S. officials have announced that all funding for the new government will be withheld, including what is needed to pay salaries for schoolteachers, nurses, social workers, police and maintenance personnel. So far they have not agreed to bypass the Hamas-led government and let humanitarian funds be channeled to Palestinians through United Nations agencies responsible for refugees, health and other human services.

It' always been about you hasn't it Jimmy? "...but my conversations with representatives of both sides..." Jimmy the savior of the world. This from the idiot who gave us a North Korea armed with Nukes. What we really need now is to follow the advice of the most inept, incompetent, naive president in history, and "world leader" since Neville Chamberlain's "Peace for Our Time."

Jimmy is convinced by the promises of the folks who brought us suicide/homicide bombings. "...so top Hamas leaders may choose to concentrate their influence in the parliament and propose moderates or technocrats for prime minister and cabinet posts..." Riiiight Jimmy! Of course they will, they've talked to you and we all know how highly you hold yourself in esteem. Why we just don't understand the poor people of Hamas. They're just peace loving fuzzballs like you and me. Afterall they've hardly done anything...in the last 24 hours to kill more Israeli women and children. Heck if we had just listened to you back when you were President, Iran might not be subject to the brutal rule of the Shiite Clergy...oh wait, we did follow your directions, whoops! Oh well, no one is perfect, at least you rescued the hostages...oh yeah, that failed. Yeah but at least we still have the Panama Canal, I remember you saved that...uh, Dang! I forgot you gave that up. Nevermind, at least Korea is nuke-free...uh, oh yeah, they're not. Come to think of it, why would any of us listen to you? You're an idiot! Go back to your peanut farm and shut-up! We don't even like you.

Full Editorial: Jimmah Speaks-Morons Listen

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