Amanpour in praise of Hamas

In "From terrorism to trash collection", which appeared yesterday on CNN’s Anderson Cooper “blog,” CNN Correspondent Christiane Amanpour has more than just words of praise for Hamas.

When people ask: “Why did the Palestinian people elect a terrorist group?” The answer is because they see them as a lifeline.

Hamas gained support among Palestinians through two decades of building an effective and affordable social welfare system in Gaza. It runs most of the kindergartens, funds health clinics, provides welfare checks to widows and orphans, and yes, even stages mass weddings to help unemployed young men get married.

Each time I go to the Palestinian territory of Gaza, I am shocked by the reality on the ground. On a recent visit, I passed through a short tunnel from the First World in Israel and emerged into the Third World that is Gaza. The poverty there is among the worst in the world.

Hamas officials told me they did not expect to win the election as overwhelmingly as they did. They say their main priority now is to meet the demands of the people for a better life.

But that may be impossible, because Israel and the United States refuse to deal with Hamas and have already cut funding to the new Palestinian government.

How sad! I thought, when writing "Undeserved hostility", that maybe I was exaggerating. Every day that goes by, I realise that I was right! America's biggest enemy is not in the Middle East, but is hiding between Mexico and Canada!

Even Al Capone & Co. used to help hundreds of poor Italian families, while running the mob and causing terror and bloodshed. Does that mean that he wasn't a mobster?