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.
Now, one could certainly argue that the proper political response to the situation was given by Obama to this situation. But why are so very many of these incidents popping up? why I so many of old mom and his friends and close associates being found with ties to terrorist organizations?
Even assuming the most Pollyanna-ish explanation and the assumption that he is completely innocent of any such associations himself, his circle of friends most certainly has those associations in an unusually large number. Doesn’t it kind of make you wonder who he’s going to be appointing to key foreign policy and defense positions in an hypothetical Obama administration?