Another Obama campaign pledge quietly bites the dust
We have another astounding example of hypocrisy, deceit and betrayal by Obama. But he is embroiled in so many scandals that this received little notice. Philip Klein reports in the Examiner:
During the 2008 presidential campaign, as it became clear that Barack Obama would be the Democratic nominee, he granted an interviewwith Jeffrey Goldberg in an attempt to establish pro-Israel bona fides. A Hamas official had recently endorsed Obama's presidential candidacy and when Goldberg asked him about it, Obama responded emphatically:
My position on Hamas is indistinguishable from the position of Hillary Clinton or John McCain. I said they are a terrorist organization and I’ve repeatedly condemned them. I’ve repeatedly said, and I mean what I say: since they are a terrorist organization, we should not be dealing with them until they recognize Israel, renounce terrorism, and abide by previous agreements.
In the six years since Obama made that statement, Hamas hasn't changed its positions — it refuses to renounce terrorism or its charter calling for the destruction of Israel. Nonetheless, Obama has changed his position on Hamas by deciding to deal with them after all.
On Monday, Palestinians announced the formation of a "unity" government that includes Hamas, which is on the U.S. State Department list of designated terrorist groups. Instead of scolding Palestinians for the deal, which would put another fork in the corpse of the peace process, the State Department said it expected to work with the government.
Obama is thus betraying his own electorate and an ally abroad. While the domestic media are preoccupied elsewhere, our allies and enemies overseas will not fail to notice that a pledge from America is now official worthless. The consequences of this loss of credibility will exact a steep price for many years after Obama has left office.
Update. Rebecca Shabad reports in the Hill:
The Israeli ambassador to the United States late Monday slammed the Obama administration for its willingness to work with the new Palestinian unity government formed earlier that day.
Ambassador Ron Dermer expressed in a series of statements on Twitter that Israel is “deeply disappointed.”
Hat tip: Mike Nadler