Mr. Canason misses the point - big time. Of course, the U.S. and Israel are in some kind of back-channel discussion with Hamas; if not directly, then through Israel. The objection to Carter's visit is that it gave credibility to Hamas and they did not have to yield anything - not their commitment to violence, shellings, abductions and their stated ultimate goal of destroying Israel. And what did Mr. Canason mean when he wrote of "...the repugnant ideology and brutality of the Hamas leaders"? Is he exonerating the rank and file? What about all those dancing Palestinians when two students were killed in a library?
The constant equation of violence of the Palestinians with the defense of the Israelis is specious. If Mexico fired bombs across the border at Texas, no matter how inefficient or poorly aimed, would anyone say that U.S. military intervention was "disproportionate"?