Former President Carter Thinks Hamas is Legitimate

Hamas, an official terrorist group by the State Department, has been given the stamp of approval by former Democratic President Jimmy Carter.

In an op-ed for the supposedly “independent” magazine Foreign Policy, President Carter and former President of Ireland Mary Robinson write:

“Only by recognizing its legitimacy as a political actor -- one that represents a substantial portion of the Palestinian people -- can the West begin to provide the right incentives for Hamas to lay down its weapons. Ever since the internationally monitored 2006 elections that brought Hamas to power in Palestine, the West's approach has manifestly contributed to the opposite result.”

This kind of backwards logic is astounding. No politician—Democrat or Republican—in his or her right mind would support a terrorist organization and acquiesce to its tactics.

However, because Israel is involved, radical left-wing figures like Carter and Rep. Keith Ellison from Minnesota choose to ignore Hamas and place all the blame on the only democracy in the Middle East. This is not the way to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

As Hot Air accurately notes, “Recognizing and legitimizing a terrorist group will not cause them to give up but instead give them impunity for their terrorist acts.” By giving President Carter the platform to air such dangerous thoughts, Hamas apologists like him will only continue to grow in influence.