He needs to be told?

Wasn't he president at some pt, and he needs to be told this would be a bad idea?...come on.

He Said, She Said

Jimmy Carter says Secretary of State Rice is wrong to say the State Department advised him against going to the Middle East and asked him not to speak to leaders of the terror group Hamas as he did last week. It appears Carter is right.

Carter did have a conversation with Assistant Secretary of State David Welch before he left. This is how Welch describes their exchange to National Public Radio: "We had a professional and pleasant conversation. I did counsel him about my concerns about Hamas... our concern was, 'What's the benefit?'"

Based on that, Carter's assertion that no one at the State Department ever actually told him not to go or even urged him not to meet with Hamas seems to be correct.