Posted by
Steve on Monday, January 12, 2009 8:16:24 AM
The conflict in Gaza is having a major effect on Hamas. They are being shown to be ineffective at defending the people. Many citizens in the Gaza area are turning in Hamas followers to the Israeli military. This is making the job of the Israeli military easier and the job of Hamas harder.
The best thing that could happen in this conflict is for Hamas to be destroyed as a functioning unit. That would strike a major blow against Iran and Syria, the major backers of Hamas. If Iran and Syria could not keep Hamas going after an attack by Israel, what hope would any other organization backed by Syria and Iran have against Israel. That would send a clear message to Hezbollah in Lebanon to clean up their act or suffer the same fate.
This could give Israel and the Palestine Authority some time to complete an agreement guaranteeing Israel’s existence and setting up a recognized Palestine. Both goals would have to be achieved before there could really be any lasting peace. Egypt and Jordan came to that conclusion years ago and maybe the Palestinians will come to the conclusion that Israel has a right to exist. If the Palestinians recognize Israel, then the leaders in Lebanon would be under pressure to also recognize Israel’s right to exist. Then, Israel would have all its neighbors agreeing that it has a right to exist. The Muslim countries that are further away would still not recognize Israel, but at least they would have a buffer.
Having the buffer would not guarantee them any peace. With Iran sending in trained killers, Israel would not be safe. Also, television in Palestinian areas has depicted Jews as not worthy of living. It will take a generation of work to teach Muslims that Jews are people that have every right to live. Right now, most Muslims believe that Jews have no right to live. They are taught from the earliest levels that Jews should be killed whenever they are found. People brought up that way will have a hard time giving up those attitudes. It can be done, but a generation will have to pass before it becomes second nature.
Right now, Israel has to pound it into Hamas that they are the boss. Hamas is sounding defiant to bolster up the troops that are being decimated by Israeli planes and tanks. At some point, the rank and file in Hamas will figure out that it is not to their benefit to fight Israel. They would be better off if they either left Gaza or surrendered. Of course, every country surrounding Gaza has sealed off the border so leaving Gaza would be rather difficult. Hamas is caught between Israel and the sea. As things stand right now, they have to fight or die. As far as Israel is concerned, that is a good option for Hamas to have. Israel would just as soon kill all of Hamas rather than have them as prisoners. As prisoners they could still be problems in later years. As fighters, they will soon be dead and no longer a problem.
Hezbollah has been strangely silent from Lebanon. They lobbed a few rockets into Israel the other day in support of Hamas. But, other than that they have been strangely silent. That tells me that they took a severe beating in Lebanon during their last war with Israel. I read that Israel basically turned south Lebanon into a parking lot and the Lebanese government was upset. The source also said that the Lebanese government also told Hezbollah that the next time they were drawn into a war with Israel; Hezbollah would be kicked out of Lebanon. That would be the actions of an organization that lost the war with Israel, not beat Israel.
My hope is that Israel has the will to keep on until the job is finished. They have a tendency to pull out at the last minute and leave the cancer still there to grow again. They need to completely remove the cancer from Gaza once and for all. If they do so, the world will be a safer place.