No question, this move was done for the benefit of the US rather than sending any sort of message to Hamas. We're a fairly insignificant country in terms of middle-east influence. We probably have the least influence of all G8 nations. That said, it's important not to give governments a free pass because they were democratically elected. After all, the Nazi party was democratically elected in Germany, and got far too much of a free pass.* Any positive influence on Hamas will come not from nations like Canada or the US, but from other middle-eastern governments. Unfortunately, the current climate in the middle east does not bode well: governments in Saudi Arabia, Syria, and other countries will pay lip-service to the US, while simultaneously bolstering Hamas against the US and Israel. I think Hamas has to be given a clean slate, but kept on an extremely short leash; Israel's current initiative of withdrawing settlements is comendable, and the response of Hamas will be crucial in determining whether they're going to govern responsibly, or merely use their power to get shots in at Israel.
*Not making a direct comparison between Hamas and the Nazi party, just demonstrating that democracy is not necessarily a check against the rise of evil.
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