(Baltimore Sun) Matthew A. Levitt - Jordanian Foreign Minister Marwan Muasher bravely told an audience at the American University of Kuwait on Jan. 13 that "we [Arab nations] have failed in taking a stand against targeting civilians in all sides, including Israeli civilians." While Jordan expelled Hamas leaders from Amman in 1999, they continue to plan, coordinate, and fund terrorist attacks targeting Israeli and other civilians from Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, and Qatar, while Hamas recruits receive training in Syria, Lebanon, Iran, Sudan, and even Jordan. Indeed, according to Zainab al-Suwaij, director of the American Islamic Conference, Hamas now runs a political office in Nasiriyah, Iraq, where it is radicalizing and recruiting Iraqi youths. If Arab states would shut Hamas political offices, they would go a long way toward exposing the true nature of Hamas and put the Palestinian people back on the road to statehood. The writer is a senior fellow in terrorism studies at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
2004-01-23 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive