Jason Rosenbaum

Midday Open Thread: The U.S. Considers Talking To Hamas

by Jason Rosenbaum  ::  Filed Under Middle East / South Asia  ::  March 19th, 2008 @ 1:49 pm EST

The U.S. is considering talking to Hamas, albeit in an extremely indirect way:

After ruling out talks with Hamas, the militant Islamist group, the Bush administration is using Egypt as an intermediary to open a channel between Israel and representatives of the group, in what some diplomats say could be a softening of the American stance.

While administration officials still say they do not plan to deal directly with Hamas, the United States has given tacit support to an attempt by Egyptian officials to mediate a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, which controls Gaza.

Alex Thurston may have more for you on this later, but for now, thoughts?

The Seminal News Feed

Britain presses Iran to cooperate with UN watchdog
Thursday, 20 November 2008, 4:53 pm
LONDON, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Britain accused Iran on Thursday of failing to cooperate with a United Nations watchdog and said this increased its concerns over Tehran's nuclear programme.

WRAPUP 1-Major shipper skirts Gulf of Aden to avoid pirates
Thursday, 20 November 2008, 4:39 pm
* Danish shipper to divert ships round Cape

Ethnic divisions delay Bosnia transition decision
Thursday, 20 November 2008, 4:33 pm
BRUSSELS, Nov 20 (Reuters) - The body overseeing Bosnia's peace process agreed on Thursday to delay into 2009 a decision on when to end international supervision, as ethnic divisions continue to preve. […]


LEAVE A COMMENT

Join the discussion! Get started by reading our Comment Policies.
YOUR COMMENT   (simple HTML is allowed)   Click to quote selected text
       

Take the Blog Reader Project survey.

UPCOMING ON REDDIT
Please vote!

UPCOMING ON DIGG
Please vote!
I support Health Care for America Now