I’ve always maintained that Jimmy Carter was clueless with regards to foreign policy. He’s done nothing since the 1970’s to change my opinion on that. In fact, he keeps adding new embarassments to his already substantial pile of foreign policy embarassments. Here’s his latest major blunder:

Hamas is prepared to accept the right of Israel to “live as a neighbor next door in peace,” former President Jimmy Carter said Monday.

Carter said the group promised it wouldn’t undermine Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ efforts to reach a peace deal with Israel, as long as the Palestinian people approved it in a referendum. In such a scenario, he said Hamas would not oppose a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza.

The problem for Carter is that Hamas isn’t willing to accept Israel’s right to exist:

Carter said Hamas promised it wouldn’t undermine Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ efforts to reach a peace deal with Israel, as long as the Palestinian people approved it in a referendum. In such a scenario, he said Hamas would not oppose a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza.
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri in Gaza said Hamas’ readiness to put a peace deal to a referendum “does not mean that Hamas is going to accept the result of the referendum.”

What in Hamas’ history made Carter think that they’d agree to recognize Israel’s right to exist? Everyone who’s anyone knows that Hamas’ stated goal is to wipe Israel off the face of the earth.

There was a time when Jimmy Carter held the titles of being the worst president in history and the best ex-president in history. He still is the worst president in history but he’s now considered by sane-thinking people to be the worst ex-president in history.

President Carter would’ve been wise to stick to building houses through Habitat for Humanity and left foreign policy to the adults. It’s painfully obvious that he isn’t qualified in foreign policy.

Technorati: Hamas, Jimmy Carter, Terrorists, Israel, Peace Process, Foreign Policy

Cross-posted at California Conservative