Midday Open Thread: The U.S. Considers Talking To Hamas

[SeminalBlog]

The U.S. is considering talking to Hamas, albeit in an extremely indirect way:

After ruling out talks with Hamas, the militant Islamist group, the Bush administration is using Egypt as an intermediary to open a channel between Israel and representatives of the group, in what some diplomats say could be a softening of the American stance.
While administration officials still say they do not plan to deal directly with Hamas, the United States has given tacit support to an attempt by Egyptian officials to mediate a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, which controls Gaza.

Alex Thurston may have more for you on this later, but for now, thoughts?
</img> </img> </img>


(Source Link)