Today's Washington Post gives prime op-ed space to an indicted terrorist, arguing for diplomatic engagement with Hamas. All one needs to know about Mousa Abu Marzook can be found at the end of the article:

The writer is deputy political bureau chief of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas). He has a U.S. doctorate in engineering and was indicted in the United States in 2004 as a co-conspirator on racketeering and money-laundering charges in connection with activities on behalf of Hamas dating to the early 1990s, before the organization was placed on the list of terrorist groups. He was deported to Jordan in 1997.

Despite these "qualifications", the Post apparently considers Marzook a legitimate spokesman for the Hamas movement, an interesting indictment all by itself. Throughout the entire essay, Marzook implores the West to view the Hamas victory as a cleansing moment, an effort by the Palestinians to reform their society from the corruption of Fatah. He even invokes Judaism and Christianity to make his argument:

Our society has always celebrated pluralism in keeping with the unique history and traditions of the Holy Land. In recognizing Judeo-Christian traditions, Muslims nobly vie for and have the greatest incentive and stake in preserving the Holy Land for all three Abrahamic faiths. In addition, fair governance demands that the Palestinian nation be represented in a pluralistic environment. A new breed of Islamic leadership is ready to put into practice faith-based principles in a setting of tolerance and unity.

So far, we've been very impressed with Islamist attitudes towards Jews and Christians, especially as uttered by the mouthpieces of Hamas activists. Uh-huh. The Islamists have been famous for multiculturalism. Hey, wasn't it the Islamist Taliban who blew up the ancient Buddhist statues in Afghanistan? Wasn't it al-Qaeda that blew up Christian churches in Iraq? Isn't it the Iranian Islamists that pay Hamas that deny the Holocaust ever occurred?

If Marzook wants the West to support Hamas, then they need to change their charter to recognize Israel and to abide by Palestinian Authority agreements on the road map. So far, Hamas continues to refuse both paths. Until they change their minds, the West has little choice but to respect the Palestinian electoral results and assume that they prefer the state of war that Hamas wants with Israel over negotiations for a permanent two-state solution and to direct their aid in concurrence with that reality. When people other than money-launderers and terrorists start speaking for the Palestinians, then perhaps the aid can flow once again.

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