The Art of Politics

The Hit Parade

Hamas leader Rantisi's number comes up...

Israel took out another leader of Hamas on Saturday, bringing immediate cries of terrorism from spokesmen of the terrorist organization...

US response was muted, and deservedly so. Hamas is Israel's Al Qaeda. The US is finally publically expressing in the Israeli/Palestinian conflict what it has privately held - terror is terror, there is no justification or cause that legitimizes it. The Palestinian terror groups have long used their political plight as justification for blowing up Bah Mitzvah's and pizza parlors, and the US has finally had enough of terror, of Arafat, and of Hamas.

Some of the chattering heads are talking about a possible alignment between Hamas and Al Qaeda arising from this attack. Possibly arising? Please, birds of a feather flock together. Bin Laden has been consistent in his praise of Hamas, and it was all too clearly demonstrated on 9/11 where the Palestinian populace stood, dancing in the streets in celebration...

Questions arise of Hamas striking in the US. Uh, sure, it's possible - if the Palestinians tire of living in Gaza. The fact is that the US requires a restraint on Israel it would never expect of itself. The United States would have no compunction in taking out an Al Qaeda leader anywhere in the world - at least the current Administration wouldn't, post 9/11. The United States wouldn't hesitate to lash out viciously at Hamas should Hamas decide it wants to bring suicide bombing to American shores. Hamas knows this, and has seen the President fully willing and able to follow through on it.

The other dirty little secret they also know it's not so much that the US guarantees Israel's existence - but that the US guarantees the Palestinians existence. Without the US to countenance restraint, Israel would have lost self restraint ages ago. Hamas knows this as well - which is why they contain their actions against Israel proper, while attempting to use the US as a leashing agent on Israeli actions while they seek maximum political benefits.

Some have decried the shift in US language toward Israeli action against Hamas leaders, stating it gives the appearance of tacit approval of their actions. Well, yeah...

Posted by MEC2 at April 18, 2004 11:53 AM