Vote fraud has precedent

Can election-stealing be stamped out? In Iran, many citizens are protesting government officials’ mishandling of the recent election there.

“Might makes right and elections are not won by weaklings.” That was the attitude of Americans and Israelis who supervised Arab Palestine’s 2006 vote for a democratic parliament. The Hamas Party clearly won a solid victory, but the supervisors had other ideas.

Israeli troops quickly rounded up all available Hamas candidates – and jailed them. The United States approved the Israeli power play and went to work putting the Palestinian government in the hands of the election-losing Fatah Party.

What can be done to correct the undemocratic rulership we forced on Palestine? President Obama is making friendly overtures to Hamas but so far they see no reason to trust him.

Ex-President Jimmy Carter has conferred with Ismail Haniya, the Hamas leader we deposed as prime minister of Palestine.

Fairness must finally triumph in the Iranian and Palestinian elections. We cannot build a better world while using trickery and deceit.

Clifton Anderson

Moscow, Idaho