Dear Mr President:
Thousands of Israeli men, women and toddlers were not murdered in recent years directly by Iran.
They were murdered by the allies, friends and colleagues of a man you honored and praised in the White House.
You were the first sitting President to call for the birth of a terrorist state at Israel's throat. A terrorist state that will now be ruled by Islamic fanatics identical to and allied with Al Quida and Iran.
Cheap talk about Iran, Mr President. Reminds we of Bill Clinton's vow to man an Israeli foxhole.
Sincerely,
Wanna lookie here?
OTOH the Palestinians do not represent an existential threat to Israel tragic and serious as the terror was. The solution was well within Israel's hands and borders to control. And in fact Israel ended Intifada 2 when they struck back beginning with Operation Defensive Shield after the Passover Massacre.
American policy under Pres Bush reflected the desires of most Israelis including its leadership. Like it or not the reality is that PM Sharon called for separation and a Palestinian State. You can't be more Catholic than the Pope.
My own gut feeling is that PM Sharon and others sought to get the Palestinians out of the way before the more serious issue of Iran comes to the fore. That moment is rapidly approaching.
Now that Hamas has been elected many say it is a reflection of the mistake of disengagement. Wrong. It is a reflection that Arafat died and the stranglehold on Palestinians was relaxed. The election of Hamas provides some advantages to Israel chiefly that Hamas is tied to the global Jihad movement which means that the world, not just Israel, may be interested in their curtailment. In terms of parochial interests, terror and seeking the destruction of Israel, Fatah and Hamas are indistinguishable. The Europeans and leftists of all nationalities and stripes, including Israelis, were able to convince themselves in the face of obvious contradictory evidence that Fatah was interested in coexistence. The same will occur with Hamas at a lightening speed pace.
I would only expect European attitudes to change if they make the global connection. Hamas is part of the Muslim Brotherhood. The Brotherhood is the seed group for Al Qaeda, Zawahiri's starting point.
Daniel Pipes has an excellent article on the Hamas election:
http://www.nysun.com/pf.php?id=26722