In 2006, John McCain said in response to a reporter's question that the U.S. should "deal" with Hamas. The interview - video below - makes quite clear what McCain meant. The reporter asked: "Do you think American diplomats should be...working with the Palestinian government if Hamas is now in charge?" And McCain replied: "They're the government, and sooner or later we're going to have to deal with them, in one way or another...I understand why this Administration...had such antipathy for Hamas...but it's a new reality in the Middle East...people want security and a decent life...then they want democracy - Fatah was not giving them that."
In 2006 John McCain was absolutely right. Not only was he advocating a smarter and more reasonable policy than the Bush Administration adopted, but he was clearly doing so, at least in part, on the basis of empathy with the universal aspirations of the Palestinian people. He saw that Hamas won the Palestinian elections, and he asked himself, why did Hamas win these elections? And he answered the question in terms of Palestinian aspirations.
What a shame it is that that John McCain - who really did engage in Straight Talk - isn't running for President today. The John McCain running for President today, sadly, is using the talking points of the neoconservatives - which aren't even the consistent basis of U.S. policy today, as the U.S. negotiates directly with North Korea, and indirectly with Iran, Hamas, and Hizbollah - as a propaganda stick to beat Democrats on shock TV.
Here's a McCain adviser "explaining" the apparent flip-flop: it all depends on what you mean by the word "deal." It could be bombing, she says. It could be a bed of roses. It could be diplomatic isolation. Compare her remarks to the original interview with McCain. There is no way to reconcile the two. Is there any ambiguity in the original interview about what McCain meant?
John McCain was right in 2006, and he should apologize to Jimmy Carter for attacking Carter for the "crime" of saying consistently in 2006 and 2008 what John McCain said truthfully in 2006. (Jewish Voice for Peace and Just Foreign Policy have a petition in support of Carter, which was reported on by the Jerusalem Post.)
Note that talking to Hamas has been supported by 64% of Israelis, the former head of Israel's Mossad, and a bipartisan group of US foreign policy experts including Zbigniew Brzezinski and Brent Scowcroft.
Steve Clemons, at the Washington Note, brings the students of Occidental College into the debate. Clinton family friend Ambassador Derek Shearer had his students consider U.S. foreign policy challenges. Here are some of their recommendations on Israel-Palestine:
- Send the US Ambassador back to Damascus to re-open diplomatic ties, showing our acknowledgement of Syria's interest in the resolution of the conflict.
- Work with Israel and Fatah to end the blockade of Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
- Hamas can serve as a serious impediment if they are ignored or excluded from the peace process.
- Negotiations (possibly backchannel) must be opened with Iran.
Perhaps these students could try to get a meeting with Senator McCain - to remind him of what he once knew.