The Goal Of These Pages

Hamas is a terrorist organization. It also is now the elected majority party of a Palestinian parliament. U.S. and other officials are trying to decide what policy to take toward a new government, as experts debate the same question. In that context, the party's platform and intentions are newsworthy -- including Marzook's soft-pedaling of Hamas's position on Israel, his plea for continued aid and his suggestion that Hamas does not favor the creation of an Islamic state.

Is that credible? Readers will come to their own judgment -- informed, we

hope, by further commentary we publish on the same subject. The day after Marzook's essay appeared we published Richard Cohen's column "Don't Be Fooled by Hamas." There is no last word on a good opinion page.

In an era when the Web allows readers to read only commentary that they agree with, we continue to think there's value in an opinion page that offers a wide range of commentary. Our editorials don't always share Toles's point of view; the op-eds we publish frequently disagree with our editorials. Our aim is not to offend, though some readers will at times be offended, but rather to stimulate, provoke and inform debate.

We're glad to hear from readers when they think we've gotten it wrong, and even sometimes when they think we've gotten it right.

Fred Hiatt is editorial page editor of The Post. His e-mail address isfredhiatt@washpost.com.