Jimmy Carter Hugs And Kisses A Hamas Leader, Congress Asks Carter To Cancel Meeting

Over 50 members of Congress sent a letter to Jimmy Carter asking him NOT to meet with the head of Hamas later this week but according to Fox News here, it's probably too late as Carter has already started the downward spiral into the waiting arms of Hamas. This from the Fox article:

Carter reportedly hugged — and kissed — a Hamas leader Tuesday in the West Bank town of Ramallah on a Mideast visit that is to culminate in a meeting Friday with the group's exiled leader in Damascus, Syria.
Carter's embrace of Nasser Shaer, a senior Hamas politician, at a closed-door reception organized by Carter's office was reported by several news outlets Tuesday

As for the letter from Congressmen, it was signed by members from both sides of the aisle. This from the article:

The letter, sponsored by Reps. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., and Shelley Berkeley, D-Nev., and signed by congressional leaders including House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, and veteran representative Barney Frank, D-Mass., lists the 26 Americans who have been killed in terrorist attacks launched by Hamas.
"President Carter, do not meet with the man who ordered their deaths," wrote the congressmen.

Now, two things I'd like to point out. Although I am all for this condemning correspondence, why is it coming so late? Why not personally deliver the damn letter to Carter BEFORE he even left??? And secondly, why doesn't the letter list the Israeli casualties of the terror by Hamas?

And where has been the condemnation from the White House on Carter's trip? I don't care if Jimmy Carter is a former president or not, he is mocking the stance of our country regarding this terrorist organization. Seriously, Carter should have had any travel visa revoked for this trip.

Congressmen Implore Carter to Shun Hamas

"He gave me a hug. We hugged each other, and it was a warm reception," Shaer told The Associated Press. "Carter asked what he can do to achieve peace between the Palestinians and Israel ... and I told him the possibility for peace is high."
"Carter has weight and respect, and I hope he'll have a role and effect on the Palestinian problem," Shaer said, according to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
The AP said Carter's office refused to comment, saying he does not discuss closed meetings.
Shaer, who served as deputy prime minister and education minister in the Hamas-led Palestinian government that unraveled last year, is considered a leading member of the Islamic militant group's pragmatic wing. After a stint in an Israeli prison last year, he is now a professor at a West Bank university, teaching comparative religion.
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said Carter's meeting with Hamas "dignified" a group committed to Israel's destruction. "One cannot but wonder how this attitude is supposed to promote peace and understanding," he said.
Israel and the West Bank are the first stops on a visit that also is to include Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and Syria — where the virulently anti-Israel Hamas movement is headquartered. Shunned by his Israeli hosts and criticized by the White House for his willingness to meet with Hamas, Carter has urged that both stop isolating the militant group.
"Since Syria and Hamas will have to be involved in a final peace agreement, they have to be involved in discussions that lead to final peace," Carter said Tuesday.
The U.S. has also expressed displeasure at Carter's overtures to Hamas, an Islamic group responsible for the deaths of some 250 Israelis in suicide bombings and labeled a terrorist organization by both countries.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is not meeting with Carter during his visit, and the only Israeli leader to host him, President Shimon Peres, scolded Carter for his planned meeting with Mashaal.