During his election bid, President Barack Obama said that he would be willing to meet with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. this has certainly sparked interest from leaders in the Middle East. It now seems that Hamas has been encouraged by the President's stance enough to express a desire to talk with the President-elect.  "We are ready to hold a serious duologue with the new United States president," de facto Gaza prime minister and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said Thursday.

Keep in mind that President Obama has made comments that he would not meet with outlawed terrorist organizations. In the world of politics it is always interesting to see the difference between a politician's promise, talk and pen. While Obama has made stern statements about Hamas, the Democrats did meet with Hamas leaders, remember the summer trip by former President Carter?

This is a definite turn-around for the terrorist organization that made the following comments during the Presidential race: 

Hamas leader Sami Abu Zuhri chastised both the Democratic and Republic candidates. "Hamas does not differentiate between the two presidential candidates, Obama and McCain, because their policies regarding the Arab-Israel conflict are the same and are hostile to us. Therefore we… have no preference and are not wishing for either of them to win," he said.

Conclusion:
President-elect Barack Obama faces many international challenges as he assembles his staff for the transition. While the President may not meet directly with Hamas it will be interesting to see if he sends any representatives to deal with the terrorist group that is a legitimate, democratically elected government representative. Another aspect of this development is why did the terrorist organization change its tune, since Obama says that Hamas has to give up violence and recognize Israel? What is the endgame that Hamas is playing? Is this another ploy to continue to gain legitimacy for this terrorist organization? Will it try to gain funds to continue its operations? Only time will tell, stay posted.