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| Obama sacks adviser over talks with Hamas |
| 2008-05-10 |
| One of Barack Obama’s Middle East policy advisers disclosed yesterday that he had held meetings with the militant Palestinian group Hamas – prompting the likely Democratic nominee to sever all links with him. Robert Malley told The Times that he had been in regular contact with Hamas, which controls Gaza and is listed by the US State Department as a terrorist organisation. Such talks, he stressed, were related to his work for a conflict resolution think-tank and had no connection with his position on Mr Obama’s Middle East advisory council. “I’ve never hidden the fact that in my job with the International Crisis Group I meet all kinds of people,” he added. Ben LaBolt, a spokesman for Mr Obama, responded swiftly: “Rob Malley has, like hundreds of other experts, provided informal advice to the campaign in the past. He has no formal role in the campaign and he will not play any role in the future.” The rapid departure of Mr Malley followed 48 hours of heated clashes between John McCain, the Republican nominee-elect, and Mr Obama over Middle East policy. Mr Obama, who has been trying to assuage suspicion towards him among the influential Jewish and pro-Israel lobby, spoke at a Washington reception marking the 60th anniversary of Israeli independence on Thursday when he promised that his commitment to the country’s security would be “unshakeable”. However, Mr McCain has high-lighted the Democrat’s pledge to negotiate directly with nations such as Iran – whose leaders talk of wiping Israel off the map – and a statement from Hamas saying that it hoped that Mr Obama would win the presidency. This was denounced as an offensive smear by Mr Obama, who repeated earlier statements saying that Hamas was “a terrorist organisation [and] we should not negotiate with them unless they recognise Israel, renounce violence”. He went on to suggest that Mr McCain’s attack showed that he was “losing his bearings”. This remark triggered a furious reaction from Mark Salter, the Republican’s senior adviser, who said that Mr Obama was “intentionally raising John McCain’s age as an issue” – a claim the Democrat vehemently denied. The intensity of this dispute reflects both Mr Obama’s desire to move beyond his battle with Hillary Clinton and how Republicans are already beginning to train their sights on him. The Republican National Committee has amassed a 1,000-page dossier on Mr Obama, with researchers spending weeks in Chicago seeking fresh material. He is already being criticised for his links with Rashid Khalidi, a Columbia University professor who has branded Israel an “apartheid system in creation”. Mr Malley, a respected commentator on Middle Eastern issues and part of President Clinton’s negotiating team at the Camp David talks, has come under attack in recent months from right-wing bloggers. Yesterday, asked if Obama campaign was aware of his contact with Hamas, he said: “They know who I am but I don’t think they vet everyone in a group of informal advisers.” Randy Scheunemann, Mr McCain’s foreign policy chief, suggested that Mr Malley was part of an emerging pattern in which other advisers had been repudiated after throwing confusion over policies on trade and Iraq. “Perhaps because of his inexperience Senator Obama surrounds himself with advisers that contradict his stated policies,” he said. |
| Posted by:Pappy |
| #16 Shieldwolf, the party-line Jewish Democrats really are experiencing both falling percentages and falling raw numbers. The number of Jewish Republicans/Conservatives his increased in each of the post-Clinton elections, and probably during the Clinton period as well (I was either pregnant or out of the country during those two election periods, so I didn't pay attention to anything beyond the critical details). I strongly suspect if Barack Obama gets the Democratic nod, the party will lose the Jewish vote, except for a few die-hards. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2008-05-10 22:24 |
| #15 Okay, I can accept that the majority of Jews in the US are in urban areas and may feel closer to the Dems on certain issues, and that a lot may not have any warmth towards Israel. But what I cannot understand is the bloc voting for the Dems after the passes for leading Dems spitting on Jews : Jesse Jackson and Hymietown, the McKinneys and the "jewish conspiracy"; the fact that Louis Farrakan is NOT shunned by the Dems and even gets backdoor recognition; Jimmy Carter's embrace of every major Islamic terrorist organization in the world and his blaming of Israel and AIPC for ALL the problems between Arabs and Jews; and the fact that Hillary got roasted for saying that she would nuke Iran if it nuked Israel; plus the fact that Obama and other Dems are insisting that we talk to Iran without precondition, even though the Iranian President is talking about a thermonuclear Holocaust being unleashed on Israel. Even if you are no fan of Israel, allowing a threat to what is effectively 25% of all the Jews in the world to be exterminated WITHOUT a threat of immediate thermonuclear retaliation is insane. And yet, the American Jewish vote is one of the rocks of the Democratic Party. |
| Posted by: Shieldwolf 2008-05-10 20:59 |
| #14 It is also possible that liberal American Jews consider America as their home country, and don't give a fig about Israel. That's how it appears in spite of that fact that numerous Christians and other Americans support the Jews in Israel. Liberals make little sense anyway. |
| Posted by: wxjames 2008-05-10 14:44 |
| #13 Shieldwolf: Jews vote Democratic for the same reason that Kansans vote Republican: cultural ideals trump naked class or ethnic interests. Jews are overwhelmingly urban, upper-class, educated (often over-educated), usually pro-choice/abortion, statist-minded, and hostile to public displays of religion. That puts them in the modern Democratic Party culturally speaking. I'm willing to bet that this will continue to shift as the non-Orthodox Jewish population continues to decline relative to their more natalist Orthodox cousins. But even the Orthodox tend more towards a sort of American Toryism than off-the-shelf Republicanism. |
| Posted by: Mitch H. 2008-05-10 14:07 |
| #12 Political Think Tank, what I consider the certified diamond curriors of viewable politics. This stuff is more telling than relishing his 57 comments. One of Barack Obama’s Middle East policy advisers disclosed yesterday that he had held meetings with the militant Palestinian group Hamas – prompting the likely Democratic nominee to sever all links with him. Don't know about any of you but is it not suspicious that for someone who fancies themself capable of being President of the United States, he is completely ignorant of his closest advisors? |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2008-05-10 11:40 |
| #11 Hussein's chickies are headed to the coop. I hope John Boy hammers this nail until it's driven straight into Obamamessiah's heart. It's a good start. Since Barry has now simply annointed himself the primo caputi, he can start taking incoming fire. I hope, as time goes by, McCain gets his dander up and hits him with every scrap of doodoo that's out there. Think the Magic Man can take it ? |
| Posted by: Woozle Elmeter 2700 2008-05-10 09:34 |
| #10 Obama, typical politician that preaches change. The only change you will see from him is your taxes going up and more attacks on US interests. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2008-05-10 08:45 |
| #9 “They know who I am but I don’t think they vet everyone in a group of informal advisers, Leaving that for the bloggers and voters are they? |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2008-05-10 08:25 |
| #8 Obama's just cutting out the middle man and passing the savings onto you. |
| Posted by: ed 2008-05-10 08:08 |
| #7 Obama's going to talk to Iran--of which Hamas is a wholly-owned subsidiary--but then he fires this guy for talking to Hamas. |
| Posted by: Mike 2008-05-10 07:49 |
| #6 Coulda, should, woulda...yawn. |
| Posted by: Bobby 2008-05-10 06:19 |
| #5 Obama could have just as easily said: "...John McCain has no foundation to stand on; in those assertions!" The McCain camp would have fired back, that: "Obama; is suggesting to everyone that Senator McCain will fall down from the platform and hurt himself..."! The Hamas "endorsement" was swallowed by McCain and his camp on nefarious calculations. Watch for Binny's next tape, injecting himself into American politics by recommending Obama to the US for "serious peace considerations"! Will McCain take the bait?? |
| Posted by: smn 2008-05-10 05:52 |
| #4 What I cannot understand is the fact that Jews overwhelming vote for Democrats, when Republicans have been much better to Israel for my entire life. |
| Posted by: Shieldwolf 2008-05-10 04:53 |
| #3 Looks like someone is starting to have to face reality. Alternatively gorb, it looks like Obama wants |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2008-05-10 04:12 |
| #2 Or Gorb, it looks like 'Change' is really beginning to scare the entrenched! |
| Posted by: smn 2008-05-10 03:57 |
| #1 Looks like someone is starting to have to face reality. |
| Posted by: gorb 2008-05-10 02:23 |