> Ismail Haniyeh's political advisor says Islamist group met with US
> president-elect's aides in Strip following online correspondence; 'they told
> us not to come out with any statements so as not to harm Obama's campaign,'
>
This doesn't surprise me. Unless you're a total ideologue like Elliot Abrams, you at least want to have lines of communication open. I'm sure the Bush admin had some deniable backchannels too. What I don't get is why Yousuf is saying this publicly. He's savvy and knowledgeable about Western politics. Surely he knows that this doesn't look good in domestic US politics. I wonder what he's doing?
SA