vinemaple

It doesn't take an Al Franken to spot this. FOXNews says Solemn Day Doesn't Halt Attacks on Bush:

While he has insisted that he backs U.S. policy supporting Israel, statements made on Wednesday about Hamas raise new questions.

"There is a war going on in the Middle East, and members of Hamas are soldiers in that war," Dean said Wednesday.

Dean condemned terrorism but his description of Hamas — designated by the United States as a terrorist group — as "soldiers in a war" conflicts with U.S. policy. The European Union also approved last week the designation of Hamas as a terrorist organization.

The part about "solemn day" in the headline doesn't jive with the word "Wednesday," unless something bad happened on September 10th that I don't know about. But that's a minor point.

Is Dean saying that Hamas, which is dedicated to destroying Israel (and has something against Rotary clubs), is morally equivalent to Israel? That is big news. Let's see what CNN has to say ... Dean defends Middle East remarks:

Asked if he would oppose the Israeli policy of selectively killing leaders of Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups, Dean said, "I think no one likes to see violence of any kind."

But he also said that "there is a war going on in the Middle East, and members of Hamas are soldiers in that war, and, therefore, it seems to me that they are going to be casualties if they are going to make war."

Apparently Dean approves of Israel's current policy of going after Hamas's leadership. You wouldn't know that from FOXNews's story. Bad FOXNews, bad! Still, the only time Hamas members wear uniforms is during funerals for suicide bombers, so the word "soldier" doesn't apply. If Dean is going to talk about Israel, I'd like him to simply say, "and in Israel versus Hamas, I'm rooting for Israel."