The Talking Points for Whitewashing Hamas

1. Insist that Hamas won the election because of its anti-corruption position rather than because voters supported terrorism and an Islamic state. Granted this is a little like arguing that the KKK enjoys the support it does because of its position on clean streets, rather than its hatred of blacks but this is the talking point being broadcast by everyone from the media to Rice and President Bush.

2. Redefine Hamas not as a terrorist organization but as an organization with "an armed wing," as Bush did during his own press conference. Terrorism is a very real wrong and evil, by contrast the Boy Scouts have an "an armed wing" too that goes target shooting. So Hamas is just like the Boy Scouts now and who can object to the Boy Scouts?

3. Talk about boosting the "moderate elements' of Hamas. Who these 'moderate elements' are and how moderate is anyone in a terrorist organization whose goal is to wipe out Israel and create an Islamic state remains unclear, but nevertheless it's insisted that like leprechauns and the tooth fairy they exist and Hamas must be appeased for their sake.

4. Insist that Hamas recognize Israel and agree to negotiations. Note this has absolutely nothing to do with ending terrorism. The PLO also recognized Israel and agreed to negotiations. Of course on their maps Israel still didn't exist, the negotiations consisted of pressing Israel for concessions while carrying on the terrorism. This is the same thing now being demanded of Hamas.

The world does not want Hamas to end terrorism, they want Hamas to continue the charade of a peace process to provide photo ops for Bush, appease the Arab world and prevent Israel from fighting back. The world has decided that the problem is the lack of a Palestinian state and the solution is to create one. The negotiations are simply the vehicle by which Israel will be compelled to create it. That is why the world never cared whether Arafat kept his commitments or ended terrorism. It was not relevant to the problem or the solution.

Hamas' victory would force rational intelligent people to redefine their assessment of the situation. However both the right and the left respond to it not by finally recognizing the fact that Palestinians support terrorism and seek the destruction of Israel as that would mean that giving them a state would be inadvisable. Instead facing the problem of Hamas' victory, they have done what corporations and governments usually do when facing unpleasant facts. They just redefine the problem.

And so therefore the talking points say that the problem is not that Hamas is a terrorist group dedicated to creating an Islamic state but that it is not prepared to negotiate as negotiations are the only things the world cares about. They redefine Hamas' victory not as a victory for terrorism but as a victory for honest government. Hamas hired its own PR expert but this proved unnecessary as the US government, Europe and the media were more than eager to do the work for them.

To those who naively believed that Hamas victory would convince the world the Palestinians don't want peace or finally bring about a conflict that would resolve the situation; were as usually foolishly optimistic. Instead Hamas will use the skirts of President Abbas to continue siphoning aid from the West to fund their terrorism and while the remains of Fatah continue to conduct the sham negotiations with Israel, Hamas will use their newfound money and power to bulk up their armies and to carry out bombings in Haifa and Jerusalem.

And so it goes.