1) Hello Likud/Netanyahu bye bye Kadima/Olmert
2) President Bush appears to be taking the stand recommended by Natan Sharansky -- allow democracy and let the people suffer their choices. President Bush has reiterated his stand not to deal with the terrorist Hamas. May his resolve hold fast.
fyi
We talk to governments that do terrible things all the time - we had contact with the U.S.S.R. all through the cold war and we talk to Cuba and North Korea, heck we talked to the Taliban before we invaded Afghanistan.
I think is actually good to have hamas elected - now we know for sure the will of the Palestinian people and we can treat them accordingly. The first step should be to cut off aid and to state that attacks by Hamas are now acts of war.
If a people freely elects terrorism, they freely elect to be legitimate targets of war.
I know it's drastic but since the Israelis have now separated the Jews from the Palistinians into different areas, why not simply take out the entire Gaza "hood" and blow all those thugs to smithereens? It would benefit the entire middle east and the world, once and for all.
Agreed, and BTW, why are the only ones "stunned" the media?
FR was not stunned in the least.
Israel's response should be to elect Netanyahu's Likud Party and throw out the Kadima Party. It's yesterday's news.
There's been a lot of spin today from people claiming this is actually a GOOD thing because now Hamas is a government agent and force can be brought to bear on the Palestinians with more legitimacy if terrorist attacks continue to occur in Israel.
Frankly, I think this is a weak argument. This is a horrible thing for Hamas to be in power, and it doesn't give Israel any greater "legitimacy" in retaliation than it did before - and the reason is this: Most of the world will continue to blame Israel and hold Israel as the villain, even if a Hamas-run government is found to be outfitting kids wish bomb vests and sending them into Tel Aviv. Either way, Israel will be punished. What's worse is the potentially unifying legitimacy Hamas will have in the eyes of the Palestinian people. Everyone among the Palestinians agree that Israel must be destroyed. Any rifts between Fatah and Hamas are EASILY trumped by that common goal. It's one thing for a terrorist outfit to blow the bugle as a call to arms of the Palestinian people. It's another thing when that terrorist group is your freely elected government, which goes a long way to manifesting an identity for the Palestinian street.
The greater risk, in my opinion, is that Hamas will become Iran't proxy in Gaza as Hezbollah is in Lebanon. Further, I fear the radicalization of the Palestinian street beyond the usual rabble of rock-throwers - a kind of patriotism that concedes that despite Hamas' penchant for blowing up fellow Palestinians, heck, it worked. They're in power. Let's do the same.
Agreed - democracy does not always bring to power the most enlightened leaders (Hitler and Mussolini were elected by strong majorities). Since it is now US policy not to interfere with elections (except for Clinton, who sent his boy Carville to Israel to ensure Barak's win) we need to live with the results.
My concern is that Bush will back off the US position that US will not do business with Hamas because it is a terrorist organization that sponsors terrorism.
Ponder Israel and then surrender some more.
How much was the Sharon family paid to be Hamas' campaign managers?
How could any Arab not vote for Hamas after they succeeded in chasing Israel our of Gaza?
Bush and Rice should also get something.
Oh my. How silly of me.
The good thing is, the leader will be easier to target when they get up to the podium for their annual State of Terror report.
"My fellow terrorists. Greetings I bring...
*PFFFFFT*. clunk. Pandemonium erupts in crowded donkey stall.
Hamas' stunning showing in Wednesday's vote could send tremors through Israel's own political establishment ahead of March elections by bolstering hawks who oppose territorial concessions to the Palestinians... Likud's leader, former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, warned that Hamas' dramatic election victory would turn the Palestinian Authority into a radical, Islamic regime."Netanyahu would be the first in line to hold talks with Hamas if he's elected PM. If anything, this development will drag Likud to an extreme position and loss of seats, strengthen Kadima or -- if this leads more Israelis to throw up their hands and think it's now mere realism to have to talk with Hamas -- they'll vote Labor.
Nothing, that is, until the moment that Katyusha rockets start coming in from Palestine and landing in Israeli neighborhoods in Jerusalem.
Then the response...to the Hamas controlled and duly elected Palestinian government...should be total and swift annihilation of the Palestinian government and the occupation of the former Palestinian lands.
Up until this point, the response from Palestine has been, "Hamas launched the rockets. This is not an action of the Palestinian authority."
Well...things are a lot different now...aren't they? Time to take off the gloves.
Israeli officials convened emergency meetings on Thursday to decide how to respond to the militant Hamas group's upset victory in Palestinian elections... Likud's leader, former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, warned that Hamas' dramatic election victory would turn the Palestinian Authority into a radical, Islamic regime."