Opinion

THERE HE GOES AGAIN

Jimmy Carter, freshly returned from his Middle East “be kind to jihadists” tour – one that even Palestinian leaders admitted achieved “nothing” – had no trouble producing a scapegoat for the failure of his foolish mission: Condoleezza Rice.

Indeed, Carter wants it known that the secretary of state is a liar.

Actually, he tried to minimize the public insult by issuing a statement that called Rice a “truthful person” who “perhaps inadvertently is continuing to make a statement that is not true.”

Carter denies Rice’s insistence that the Bush administration “explicitly” urged him not to meet with Hamas. An aide to Carter admits that Rice’s deputy did raise concerns about the trip, but insisted that they were only about security, “not political reasons.”

OK, so maybe Rice’s assistant didn’t flat-out tell Carter over the phone not to sit down with murderers. After all, there’s not the slightest chance that Carter would have listened.

But what is it about this statement, made days before Carter and Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal held their meetings, that the ex-prez didn’t comprehend?

“I find it difficult to understand what is going to be gained by having discussions with Hamas about peace when Hamas is, in fact, the impediment to peace,” Rice said on April 11.

And, in fact, nothing was gained – as Palestinian Foreign Minister Royal al-Malki confirmed.

Indeed, just hours after his meeting with Mashaal, Carter himself was forced to backtrack on his declaration that Hamas “will, in effect, recognize Israel.”

“Hamas will not recognize the state of Israel,” said Hamas’ leader.

Not that this kept Carter from declaring how wonderful and clear-thinking he found the Hamas leaders to be. “They are just as rational as you are,” he said.

Except, of course, that they’re bloody-handed killers.

Obviously, we don’t know what words passed between Carter and Condi Rice’s deputy. But we do know who we believe.

And it’s not Jimmy Carter.

As the saying goes: There’s no fool like an old fool.