Senator George J. Mitchell, a special envoy to the Middle East and Europe, departed on Monday for a whirlwind tour of Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, France, and Britain. The New York Times reported today that the purpose of his trip will be as a “listening and learning exercise,” presumably to gather information for future hard diplomacy. However, a State Department spokesman said that Mr. Mitchell “will not venture into Gaza or meet with Hamas officials.”

Hamas is still a terrorist organization as far as the American government is concerned, and President Obama predictably does not want to be seen as one to fraternize with confirmed terrorists. But in a “listening” mission that plans to listen to both Hamas' greatest rivals—Fatah in the West Bank and Israel itself—is it really wise to ignore Hamas? For the strongest global power—the one with the most influence to bring to bear when brokering peace—to disenfranchise Hamas tells them, and the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip that support them, that they are not part of the peace process and that their opinion does not count.

If Hamas sees Mr. Mitchell's snub this way, then it will solidify their belief that the destruction of Israel is the only way to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict. Moreover, they can use this message to prove to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip that the best peacemaker in the West has no interest in hearing their voice, and that their best chance is to rally behind Hamas' misguided violence. Hamas' soapbox—one built atop a pile of rockets and mortars—will grow ever taller. So long as we smother and silence them with the label of terrorists, they will act as such.

It is no real surprise—in fact, it's just a continuation of the attitude that has long guided American policy regarding foreign conflict. In pressuring Egypt to cut off Hamas' supplies, promising Israel to “interdict ships carrying arms in the Mediterranean,” and pretending that Fatah isn't rapidly losing legitimacy with the Palestinian people, the Obama administration is treating Hamas like a feral animal, to be starved until it is weak enough to safely shoot. Hamas must be treated like the political entity it is, not a band of apolitical mass murderers, and its voice listened to during this “listening exercise.” Otherwise, by continuing to treat them as nothing but terrorists, Americans will have granted them implicit permission to continue to terrorize.