Posted on 01/28/2006 6:54:04 AM PST by Cornpone
DAMASCUS (Reuters) - The Islamic militant group Hamas was ready to merge armed factions including its military wing to form an army to defend the Palestinian people, a senior Hamas leader said on Saturday.
"We are willing to form an army like every country ... an army to defend our people against aggression," Hamas politburo chief Khaled Meshaal told a news conference in Damascus after the group swept Palestinian parliamentary elections.
Says who? They have done it for 40 years. No reason to change tactics, even if the leadership changes.
That highway of death photo is impressive
"How are they going to pay their army?"
The same standard wages they have been paying: 72 virgins.
No they don't have an army; what they have is a mob with guns. To have an army requires a number of things like training, planning, exercise, and most of all - discipline. That's why the combined armies of Egypt, Jordan, and Syria in at least 4 major conflicts over the past 57 years have never been able to defeat one little country like Isreal. Calling that bunch of rabble an army doesn't make them one (and I agree with several previous threads that believe if the Palestinian/Hamas "Army" gives Israel one provocation, they - the Palestinian/Hamas "Army" - will cease to exist.
I did not notice yesterday that this is dateline DAMASCUS. Now that's a problem in my mind.
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