This week, an Arabic newspaper revealed that former President Jimmy Carter would be traveling to Damascus next week for a meeting with Khaled Meshal, the leader of terrorist organization Hamas. The meeting will be the first time a Western leader of Carter’s political importance will meet with what the United States refers to as “foreign terrorist organization” in conjunction with the governments of Israel, Canada, Japan, the United Kingdom and Australia.

Since the 2006 elections, the political arm of Hamas has been the majority party in the Palestinian Legislative Council of the Palestinian Authority. The group’s goal, as defined by their charter, states that “there is no solution for the Palestinian question except through jihad” against Israel and its supporters. Hamas operatives participate in suicide bombings, attacks on civilians and guerilla warfare against Israel, most recently against the nation’s former occupation of Gaza. Hamas also broadcasts propaganda, including a children’s television show featuring animal characters and a child host calling for the death of Jews, Israel and America in the name of Islam.

Needless to say, President Carter’s trip should be a blast.

This news about Carter’s visit should not surprise those who understand the former president’s penchant for taking the side of America’s enemies. This is the same man that has cozied up with foreign dictators Ceausescu of Romania, Mengistu of Ethiopia, Kim Il Sung of North Korea, Ortega of Nicaragua and Castro of Cuba.

Carter has also been highly critical in recent years of America’s continued support of Israel, calling for the U.S. to cut off aid to our sole ally in the Middle East until the dispute with the non-state of Palestine is resolved. This view has been in direct contrast with America foreign policy over the last several decades.

By meeting with Hamas and Meshal, Carter severely undermines U.S. interests in the region, which aim to minimize Hamas’s influence in Gaza while supporting pro-West President Mahmoud Abbas. The State Department acknowledges that it has “counseled against” the meeting but that the government cannot stop a private citizen.

While he may be within his legal bounds, this episode serves as another example of Carter’s stupidity with regard to foreign policy. He may believe in an open dialogue on issues, but what the former president fails to understand is the determination with which Hamas aims to bring down the state of Israel through any necessary means (violence and terrorism, most often). Hamas will simply not cooperate with the United States; its interests are for the annihilation of Israel and its supporters, so how can America find any common ground?

What we see from Carter is a potential preview of a Barack Obama presidency. It’s no coincidence that Carter’s national security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski, who has also been calling for an open dialogue with this terrorist organization, is an official adviser to the Obama campaign. In all fairness, Obama himself has criticized Carter’s trip, a spokesman saying the candidate “does not support negotiations with Hamas until they renounce terrorism, recognize Israel’s right to exist and abide by past agreements.”

But it does seem more than plausible that President Obama would meet with dictators and other enemies of the United States; he has said just as much. In July at the otherwise yawn-inducing CNN/YouTube debate, Obama answered a question on whether he would meet with the leaders of Iran, Syria, Venezuela, Cuba and North Korea “in order to bridge the gap that divides our countries” with an affirmative “I would.” In the rambling that followed, Obama explained that “we have the obligation to find areas where we can potentially move forward.”

The New Age foreign policy of Barack Obama, like that of Jimmy Carter, dictates the United States has an obligation to act nicely toward our enemies. I would appreciate another president who believes our enemies have an obligation to straighten out themselves or we will have an obligation to do it for them.

--Mike Warren is a sophomore in the College of Arts and Science. He can be reached at michael.r.warren@vanderbilt.edu and blogs at Right-Wing Vitriol.