Hamas was elected fairly by the people. End of story. Either we support the Palestinian people or we don't. On the other side of that same coin, they are directly responsible for the government they elected. They need to understand that as well.

Now, many people feel that we shouldn't support Hamas as they used to blow people up in Israel. I ask, what was their alternative? They had no guns, no tanks, no airplanes, no APC's. They fought the occupation of their land the only way they could, civilians killing themselves to take some of their enemies with them. Trust me, the Israeli's did as much or worse to them. As far as I'm concerned Israel wanted the land but not the Muslims living on it. Therefore they have failed in any governments prime mission, care for the people regardless of their race or religion. Would they have treated Catholics like this as well to protect their "Jewish identity"? Sounds like ethnic cleansing to me.

I'm not endorsing their tactics by any means. I hate to have women and children blown up, lives lost to economic misery. However, before we get on our high horse as Americans we need to realize we have done much worse as a country in time of war, as well as at "peace". Much worse.

The question, IMHO, is not their past but their future. Will they become a responsible government to help their people who desperately need it or will they follow the path of violence?