What's Next on Gaza/Israel and Why Americans Should Care

For many people, what happened today between Gaza and Israel may have all too familiar a ring to it - Israel warns and then retaliates to an alleged or real Palestinian escalation of violence, there is Arab condemnation and international exasperation, eventually things de-escalate but according to Israel's timetable as the U.S. prevents effective early international mediation, and we're back to where we started -- with the addition of more blood and death (many innocent, some less so), more wounded and more shattered families.

Most of those involved, often including Israel, tend to regret things not coming to a halt sooner. The Israel Defense Forces with their modern weaponry try to pinpoint targets but invariably, predictably, and painfully there are plenty of "misses"; the Palestinians - well their weaponry is by definition more crude, they use what is available and the results are correspondingly messy and indiscriminate. Bottom line - Arabs and Jews are killing each other - so what's new? And why on earth would America want to be involved?

Here's the bad news folks - America is involved, up to its eyeballs actually. Today, after Israeli air-strikes that killed over 200 Palestinians in Gaza, the Middle East is again seething with rage. Recruiters to the most radical of causes are again cashing in. If Osama Bin Laden is indeed a cave-dweller these days then U.S. intel should be listening out for a booming echo of laughter. Demonstrations across the Arab world and contributors to the ever-proliferating Arabic language news media and blogosphere hold the U.S., and not just Israel, responsible for what happened today (and that is a position taken, for good reasons, by sensible folk, not hard-liners). America's allies in the region are again running for cover. America's standing, its interests and security are all deeply affected. The U.S.-Israel relationship per se is not to blame (that is something I support), the unresolved Israeli-Palestinian conflict is - and thankfully we can do something about that.

Why did today's events occur? The list of causes is a long one and of course depends who you are asking. Here are five of the most salient factors as I see them:

(1) Never forget the basics - the core issue is still an unresolved conflict about ending an occupation and establishing an independent Palestinian state - everything has to start from here to be serious (this is true also for Hamas who continue to heavily hint that they will accept the 1967 borders).

(2) The immediate backdrop begins with the Israeli disengagement from Gaza of summer 2005, ostensibly a good move, except one that left more issues open than it resolved. It was a unilateral initiative, so there was no coordinating the 'what happens next' with the Palestinians. Gaza was closed off to the world, the West Bank remained under occupation and what had the potential to be a constructive move towards peace became a source of new tensions - something many of us pointed out at the time (supporting withdrawal from Gaza, opposing how it was done).

(3) U.S., Israeli and international policy towards Hamas has greatly exacerbated the situation. Hamas participated in and won democratic elections to the Palestinian Legislative Council in January 2006. Rather than test the Hamas capacity to govern responsibly and nurture Hamas further into the political arena and away from armed struggle, the U.S.-led international response was to hermetically seal-off Hamas, besiege Gaza, work to undemocratically overthrow the Hamas government and thereby allow Hamas to credibly claim that a hypocritical standard was being applied to the American democracy agenda.

American, Israeli and Quartet policy towards Hamas has been a litany of largely unforced errors and missed opportunities. Hamas poses a serious policy challenge and direct early U.S. or Israeli engagement let alone financial support was certainly not the way forward, but in testing Hamas, a division of labor within the Quartet would have made sense (European and U.N. engagement, for instance, should have been encouraged, not the opposite). Every wrong turn was taken - Hamas were seen through the GWOT prism not as a liberation struggle, when the Saudi's delivered a Palestinian National Unity Government in March 2007 the U.S. worked to unravel it, Palestinian reconciliation is still vetoed which encourages the least credible trends within Fatah, and unbelievably Egypt is given an exclusive mediation role with Hamas (Egypt naturally sees the Hamas issue first through its own domestic prism of concern at the growth of the Muslim Brothers, progress is often held hostage to ongoing Hamas-Egypt squabbles).

(4) Failure to build on the ceasefire. Israel is of course duty bound to defend and protect its citizens, so as the intensity of rocket fire in 2007-8 increased, Israel stepped up its actions against Gaza. But there was never much Israeli military or government enthusiasm for a full-scale conflict or ground invasion and eventually a practical working solution was found when both sides agreed to a six-month ceasefire on June 19th 2008. Neither side loved it. Both drew just enough benefit to keep going. That equation though was always delicately balanced. For the communities of southern Israel which bore the brunt of the rocket attacks, notably Sderot, the ceasefire led to a dramatic improvement in daily life, and there were no Israeli fatalities during the entire period (only today, following the IDF strikes did a rocket hit the town of Netivot and kill one Israeli). Israel was though concerned about a Hamas arms build up and the entrenching of Hamas rule (which its policies have actually encouraged). For Gaza the calm meant less of an ongoing military threat but supplies of basic necessities into Gaza were kept to a minimum - just above starvation and humanitarian crisis levels - an ongoing provocation to Hamas and collective punishment for Gazans. The ceasefire needed to be solidified, nurtured, taken to the next level. None of this was done - the Quartet was busy with the deeply flawed Annapolis effort.

(5) A disaster was waiting to happen, and no-one was doing much about it. There was of course a date for the end of the ceasefire - December 19th. As that date approached both sides sought to improve their relative positions, to test some new rules of the game. Israel conducted a military operation on November 4th (yes, you had other things on your mind that day), apparently to destroy a tunnel from which an attack on Israel could be launched, Hamas responded with rocket-fire on southern Israeli towns. That initiated a period of intense Israeli-Hamas dialogue, albeit an untraditional one, largely conducted via mutual military jabs, occasional public messaging and back-channels. Again though the main reliance was on Egypt - by now in an intense struggle of its own with Hamas. When Hamas pushed the envelop with over 60 rockets on a single day (December 24th), albeit causing no serious injuries and mostly landing in open fields (probably by design), Israel decided that it was time for an escalation. That happened today - on a massive scale - with an unprecedented death toll.

Israel clearly felt it was time to make a point, there was pressure (often self-generated) to act, and don't forget that Israel is in an election campaign (the vote is on Feb 10th). Hamas too had scores to settle - not only with Israel, but it was also time to pressure Egypt, Fatah, and Arab actors who had done little to address the blockade of Gaza.

So here we are, in a dangerous escalatory cycle that is already sweeping the region, with scores of Palestinian dead, horrific images, a highly-charged blame-game and no obvious exit-strategy. Both Israel and Hamas are looking to emerge with a better deal than what previously prevailed - both are preparing their publics to take harsh hits over the coming days, weeks or even longer, and over 200 families in Gaza and one family in Israel already know what that means, first-hand.

So, what needs to happen next?

Sadly it is too late for preventive action but there is an urgent need for a de-escalation that can lead to a new ceasefire - and that will not be easy.

Useful lessons can be drawn from some very recent, and ugly, Middle East history - though it seems that to its dying day the Bush Administration is refusing to learn (today the White House called on Israel only to avoid civilian casualties as it attacks Hamas - not to cease the strikes, Secretary Rice was more measured).

In the summer of 2006 an escalation between Israel and Hezbollah led to a Lebanon war whose echoes still reverberate around the region. There were well over one thousand civilian casualties (1,035 Lebanese according to AP, 43 Israelis), thousands more injured, and other fatalities including the Israeli government which never recovered its poise, what little American credibility remained in the region (Secretary Rice was literally forced to return to Foggy Bottom as allied Arab capitals were too embarrassed to receive her) and much Lebanese infrastructure. That time it took 33 days for diplomacy to move and for a U.N. Security Council Resolution (1701) to deliver an end to fighting. The U.S. actively blocked diplomacy, Rice famously called this conflict "the birth pangs of a new Middle East" - it was no such thing, and the Middle East itself did not know whether to laugh or cry (the latter prevailed).

Just as in 2006, Israel needs the international community to be its exit strategy - and there is no time to waste. Even what appears as a short-term Israeli success is likely to prove self-defeating over a longer time horizon and that effect will intensify as the fighting continues. Over time, immense pressure will also grow on the PA in Ramallah, on Jordan, Egypt and others to act and their governments will be increasingly uneasy. Demonstrations across the West Bank are calling for a halt to all Israeli-Palestinian talks and for Palestinian unity.

If the U.S. is indifferent or still under the neocon ideological spell then Europe, the rest of the Quartet, Arab States and other internationals must act - with a variety of players using leverage with Israel and Hamas to de-escalate. Escalation poses dangers at a humanitarian and regional-political level. International leaders should head to the region before the new year, even if the warring parties discourage it, and for some of them Gaza must be on the itinerary, the boycott (anyway unwise) is a secondary matter now. High-level visits in themselves can create a de-escalatory dynamic.

Both sides will want to land the final big punch and both will need a dignified narrative for home consumption - any ceasefire deal will have to take this into account (and this during an Israeli election campaign, with violence usually helping the right, and the centrist government desperate for an image make-over after that Lebanon 2006 debacle).

The obvious ingredients will have to be creatively re-configured for this to be possible, including ending rocket fire at Israel and removing the blockade on Gaza. New ingredients may also be necessary and while extending the ceasefire to the West Bank is (unfortunately) probably out of the question, it might be possible this time to establish a monitoring mechanism for the ceasefire. Such a mechanism could serve both sides' interests (Israel gets a more solid guarantee, Hamas gets more recognition). There is a precedent for this - after the April 1996 Israel-Hezbollah conflict a formal Ceasefire Understanding was reached that included the establishment of a Monitoring Group consisting of the U.S., France, Syria, Lebanon, and Israel (with Syria basically acting as guarantor for Hezbollah). That mechanism proved useful and met with constructive IDF cooperation - something similar might be needed now.

In addition efforts need to be revived for achieving Palestinian national reconciliation (which itself could ease the management of the Gaza situation) and for allowing Gaza greater access to the outside world through Egypt via the Rafah border crossing.

But there is a bigger picture - and it is staring at the incoming Obama administration. Today's events should be 'exhibit A' in why the next U.S. Government cannot leave the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to fester or try to 'manage' it - as long as it remains unresolved, it has a nasty habit of forcing itself onto the agenda. That can happen on terms dictated to the U.S. by the region (bad) or the U.S. can seek to set its own terms (far preferable). The new administration needs to embark upon a course of forceful regional diplomacy that breaks fundamentally from past efforts. A consensus of sorts is emerging in the U.S. foreign policy establishment that this conflict needs to be resolved - evidenced in the findings of a recent Brookings/Council of Foreign Relations Report or the powerful statements coming from elder statesmen like Zbigniew Brzezinski and Brent Scowcroft, themselves building on the findings of the Baker-Hamilton Iraq Study Group. It will require tenacity and bold ideas - in framing the solution, bringing in previously excluded actors, creating mechanisms to implement a deal (such as international forces) and utilizing the Saudi-led Arab Peace Initiative - but the alternative is far worse, its what we see today and it guarantees ongoing instability in a region of paramount importance to the United States.

Comments

[ApolloSpeaks]

THE VIOLENT BIRTH PANGS OF A NEW MIDDLE EAST

For a huge number of Palis they cannot live the good life so long as Isarel exists. Israel's existence is a dagger in the heart of Islam, Arab supremicism and Arab/Moslem cultural imperiialism. What we are witnessing in the region is the bloody, agonizing, violent birth pangs of a new Middle East. For those who pray for progress without pain, without great and terrible suffering, this conflict is not for you. Either you have the historical understanding and stomach for it or you don't

[CJWausau]

In 1948, a handful of world leaders decided to create the 'State of Isreal' in the midst of what they perceived as barron lands occupeid only by the occasional wandering Arab family, group, or a tribe.
Almost since its beginning, the peope of Isreal have for all practical purposes been under continuous attack by radical Palistinians firing crude missles randomly into Isreal.

America is very much involved, and like it or not, we are involved on both sides.
This problem is also farther complicated by minds 'set in concrete' on both sides of the issues. As I see it; the only way for us to in any manner remove ourselves is to remove our dependance on the Arab oil. Every time we go to the pump and fill up with gasoline derived from Arab oil, we are providing American dollars which are used to buy arms which keeps the deadly harrassment of Isreal alive. Once they are forced to choose between buying armaments, or food, perhaps the radical Arab groups will come to realize that co-existance might actually be possible.

[ptarantino]

"I am an Israeli/American whose parents arrived in Israel days after the state was declaired in 48. Therefore I admittedly see this situation through a specific lens. However, I am not an Israel right or wrong person nor a whole hearted Palestinian, Hamas, Hezbollah supporter and believer they are the victums. The points made in the article are accurate. Although one point is missing from this scenario that everyone not the bloggers but media has ignored. The real enemy of the U.S. is not Iran or religious extreamists - they are dangerous; but the enemy is our allies; those that have access to our discission makers, i.e. the government in waiting led by the extremist right thinking ideologue Benjamine Netanyau. I believe that this military action by Israel has been in the making for sometime; especially since our November election. We have failed to realize that the neoconservatives are still in control and influence global events. The extreamists on both sides are aware of that and use it to their advantage. I do not want to let Hamas off the hook. What has not been reported over the past weeks and months is the continuous - all be it intermittent is the attacks on Israel from Gaza.
This situation is a way for the right to push the incoming administration towards their adgenda and away from an adgenda of reconciliation in the region. Our enemies right now are not who we think they are closer and more familiar."

[Rule Of Law]

Now that we are safely past the cycle here, this might get posted---

I'll say it again--every side involved in this unholy mess is an idiot. If the Israelis and the Arabs in the region had any sense at all, they'd kick us out of the ME, and join forces against the real cause of the problem--The British Empire. Before Great Britain invaded the ME, there was a grudging peace based on both tribes (and Christians as well) being the people of Abraham. The Brits, to cement their power and control, set two peoples at each others throats as a way to divide and conquer. It worked. Now those people are left with the legacy of the most evil and persistent colonization policy ever devised.

Unite against the Brits. You have more in common with each other than you ever will with those racist murderers.

[ptarantino]

Daniel Levy seems like a level headed, very informed observor of this conflict.

I'd like to see Obama incorporate this man's opinions.

[Michale32086]

@polaris12

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Because Hamas is not a state. State's have different international responsibilities from non-state actors.
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You really aren't up on current events, are you?

Hamas is the de-facto government of Gaza..

Michale.....

[Angelswings]

carrie-on said......­..........­.......


I'll share,
take people in,
feed people,
and I will VOTE,
write,
march,
pay,
spend,
contribute
or do anything to stop our participation in another war! ..........­..........­.

Perhaps this is the best human way that is of any religion as to moral and ethical displays of faith and of discipline to a Higher being whether it be Mohammed, Christ, Jehova, God, or other worshipped God.

It is something Hamas cannot consider as like all terror cells inside a zone they are fragmented, and need fear, power and individul suicide bombers as young as 5 to do their parasitic work of fear making to enable them to do their work of sabotage on these two nations divided by colonial interventions in the past.

The result of occupation in those Victorian times early 19th century is that there is now need for control of the media, displays of the media cameras to force the image of power since then.

Not grainy black and white images on screens but full colour. Stop broadcasting their conflict, stop bargaining and start doing individually what carrie-on advocates to all persons as human beings. That there will be genoicide is obvious, and that before New Year Palestine and Hamas will no longer exist is obvious in this latest development. It will simple not exist. That is Hamas goal and they will go elsewhere to start new clashes perhaps in Afghanistan, or Iraq. Perhaps that is their exit strategy, who knows.

[Bonobo]

There are actually two basic problems in Israel-Palestine preventing any stable peace.

The lesser issue is that both sides have parliamentary-style governments without fixed terms. These arraignments are inherently unstable. Good for democracy, bad for diplomacy. The possibility of one’s negotiating partner losing power with very little advance warning makes people very reluctant to commit.

The greater obstacle, as in much of the rest of the world, is too many people, too few resources. Gaza is a little more than half the size of San Francisco, with almost twice the population. This place would be difficult to manage even without the overlying religious/ethnic issues. The area as a whole is way over it’s sustainable fresh water usage. This can be overcome with conservation, trade-based economies, separation of potable and non-potable water use, and “virtual water” in the form of almost all food being imported. It becomes far easier though, if Palestinians start using birth control, and Israel stops encouraging Jewish immigration.

[ageless]

I have never been in that area, only close to it. I don't know why the fighting started or what all the fighting is about. I do know that some people (Both sides) live to fight. The Arab world has ways and means to control what happens in the region, but they do nothing, until things get out of hand. Then they call for all Arabs to come together. What is so important about the area, anyway? History? History is in the books. Land? Land can be made to make any area bigger by extending it in the sea. Revenge? Both sides should realize that they can never get even. The only reason Israel has not been destroyed is because of American support. If Israel is done in, whose country will be next? Hamas knows the world will condemn Israel because of the news on civilian deaths. That is why they put launchers in populated areas. Israel never shows any damage done by the rockets before they act. If they would do this, it would show the world what is causing the problems. They need to fight smarter, not harder. Show why they need to defend themselves first. As it is, they will continue to be condemned for their actions, no matter how justified it is.

[goodspeed]

Yeah, I think you said it all in your second sentence.

"I don't know why the fighting started or what all the fighting is about.

You shoud have stopped there

[cmrced]

This is much more measured, objective and constructive than Dr. Barghouthi's screed (also in today's Huffington Post).

[Rule Of Law]

We may have supplanted the British as the major military force there, but the Brits with their never ending meddling and manipulation are the ones who created this war. And now it is not just Muslims and Jews who fight and die, but American soldiers sent to protect English banking and Oil interests. Clever.

[kappock750]

I am an Israeli/American whose parents arrived in Israel days after the state was declaired in 48. Therefore I admittedly see this situation through a specific lens. However, I am not an Israel right or wrong person nor a whole hearted Palestinian, Hamas, Hezbollah supporter and believer they are the victums. The points made in the article are accurate. Although one point is missing from this scenario that everyone not the bloggers but media has ignored. The real enemy of the U.S. is not Iran or religious extreamists - they are dangerous; but the enemy is our allies; those that have access to our descission makers, i.e. the government in waiting led by the extreamist right thinking ideologue Benjamine Netanyau. I believe that this military action by Israel has been in the making for sometime; especially since our November election. We have failed to realize that the neoconservatives are still in control and influence global events. The extreamists on both sides are aware of that and use it to their advantage. I do not want to let Hamas off the hook. What has not been reported over the past weeks and months is the continuous - all be it intermittent is the attacks on Israel from Gaza.
This situation is a way for the right to push the incoming administration towards their adgenda and away from an adgenda of reconciliation in the region. Our enemies right now are not who we think they are closer and more familier.

[kcleader]

Let's face reality. This issue in the Middle East is all about tribal land and religion. It is not unlike the British in Northern Ireland, street gangs in LA fighting over turf, mafia gangs taking territory and sources of income from each other, the Hatfield and McCoy feud and even prison gangs that still continue their ideology from behind bars. It will never be solved until each side feels they have what they want and are willing to work toward a better life for both of them. The people of the area have to decide to throw the war mongers out of power and put and end to the pointless loss of innocent lives and loss of financial independence. War is such a waste of life and treasure. Just think of the billions of dollars the Iraq and Afghanistan war has cost the parties involved and then think of the human loss of life due to egos wanting to control more land. I think we could have rebuilt the entire Middle east for the cost of the wars and not lost civilian and military lives.

[ptarantino]

Great post kappocj750.

[Michale32086]

@polaris12

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The Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip represent severe and massive violations of international humanitarian law as defined in the Geneva Convention,
{{{{{

Cite the laws of the Geneva Convention that Israel is violating.

As a bonus question, cite ANY laws of the Geneva Convention that Hamas is actually OBEYING....

}}}}
both in regard to the obligations of an occupying power and in the requirements of the laws of war.
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Newsflash for ya, cupcake. Israel doesn't occupy Gaza anymore...

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Israel is an occupying power, it is responsible for the deaths of civilians.
{{{{{

Actually, you are wrong on both counts.. Israel doesn't occupy Gaza.. YET... Also, the responsibility for the deaths of civilians lies SOLELY with the agency that is A> blindly firing missiles into civilian areas and B> housing said missiles and their launchers within civilian neighborhoods and structures. A violation of the Geneva Convention, I might add..

}}}}}
The Germans during WWII followed the exact same occupation philosophy as you subscribe to, i.e. if a town or village resisted German occupation or killed German soldiers, the Germans went in and razed the town, and then they claimed the occupants were responsible for their own deaths because they resisted occupation. You are following right along in the same tradition.
{{{{{

Close enough to a Godwin to accept your concession...

Michale.....

[polaris12]

"Those violations include:

Collective punishment – the entire 1.5 million people who live in the crowded Gaza Strip are being punished for the actions of a few militants.

Targeting civilians – the air strikes were aimed at civilian areas in one of the most crowded stretches of land in the world, certainly the most densely populated area of the Middle East.

Disproportionate military response – the air strikes have not only destroyed every police and security office of Gaza's elected government, but have killed and injured hundreds of civilians; at least one strike reportedly hit groups of students attempting to find transportation home from the university.

Earlier Israeli actions, specifically the complete sealing off of entry and exit to and from the Gaza Strip, have led to severe shortages of medicine and fuel (as well as food), resulting in the inability of ambulances to respond to the injured, the inability of hospitals to adequately provide medicine or necessary equipment for the injured, and the inability of Gaza's besieged doctors and other medical workers to sufficiently treat the victims.

Israel has also ignored recent Hamas' diplomatic initiatives to re-establish the truce or ceasefire since its expiry on December26."

Professor Richard Falk, United Nations Special Investigator for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories

[Michale32086]

The ONLY reason that Israel is targeting civilian neighborhoods is because Hamas is locating their missile launchers in those areas..

In violation of the Geneva Convention, I might add..

Interesting how you care so much about the Geneva Convention.. Except when Hamas violates it..

Why is that???

Regardless of that, please justify Hamas' placement of military hardware in civilian neighborhoods..

Why would Hamas do that????

Michale....

[polaris12]

"Despite the withdrawal of military troops in 2005, there are ongoing as well as new measures of Israeli military and administrative control in the Gaza Strip, which amount to "effective control". Therefore, the withdrawal of Israeli troops alone does not turn the occupied territory into unoccupied. It is important to note that facts on the ground define the legal situation. Israel maintain its effective control over the Gaza Strip by different means, such as control over air space, sea space and the international borders. In addition, Israeli military troops are present in the Gaza Strip since "Operation Summer Rains" in June 2006.

The law of occupation still applies to the Gaza Strip, with relevant adaptations. Israel's specific positive IHL obligations towards the civilian population, such as the active duty to ensure public order inside the Gaza Strip, are as a result of the disengagement, limited. This can be compared with Israel’s IHL responsibilities in areas that are designated as areas A and B in the West Bank under the Oslo Agreements. However, the adaptation of the level of responsibility does not change the status of the territory as occupied. ICRC as well as other international bodies such as the UN and the EU did not state any status change of the Gaza Strip."

[Michale32086]

The site seems to go on and on endlessly about Israel's "responsib­ilities"..

Strange there is NOTHING about Hamas's "responsib­ilities"..

Why is that???

Michale.....

[checkmoot]

We have a new president and secretary of state, both of whom have sworn allegiance to Israel. Nothing will be done to save the Palestinians. I think the best they can hope for is that when the Israelis finish occupying the rest of Palestine they leave some land for the surviving Palestinians in the form of reservations. Possibly allow them to open casinos.

[davidwayneosedach]

It is time for America to hand over the mantel of chief Peacemaker in the Mid-East. President elect Obama is in a prime position to give the reins to Europe.

[dsigeorge]

This will work only if Obama can muffle Emanuel and the zionist lobby.

[CokeOrPepsi2008]

Biden, Obama, Emanuel and Obama are AIPAC-approved. It's Bush's 3rd term for Gaza.

[Michale32086]

@polaris12

}}}}
Israeli's settlement policy in the West Bank is the evidence. Saudi Arabia offered Israel a comprehensive peace plan, including full recognition by all Arab States in exchange for it's return to the 1967 borders and a State for Palestine. Israel has failed to show the slightest interest in making peace if it means giving up territory acquired in war.
{{{{

Irrelevant when you consider that Hamas refuses to even concede that Israel has a right to exist.

Until THAT question is settled by Hamas et al, there can be no peace..

That puts the onus COMPLETELY on Hamas et al..

Michale.....

[polaris12]

You were asking for evidence that "Israel's government has no desire for peace." I offered in evidence Israel's settlement policy, but then you say the onus for peace is entirely on Hamas. You're not being logical.

[Michale32086]

Israel has made it clear that they want to live in peace..

The biggest impediment to that peace is that groups like Hamas refuse to concede that Israel has a right to exist..

Until such time as Hamas et al makes that concession, there will be no peace.

Making the claim that Israel does not want peace is simply not true..

Michale..

[Doris]

The settlement policy is partially driven by the knowledge that the neighbors do not recognize Israel's right to exist.

[Doris]

the writer fails to mention the overwhelming disaster created by the Palestinian people voting in Hamas. Just imagine if that hadn't happened. They might actually have gotten somewhere by now. To me, that (encouraging democratic elections there) was one of the larger failed ideas of the Bush administration.

[Michale32086]

Someone in another thread (or maybe this one, I don't remember) made the very logical and very rational conclusion that Gaza was a "test" by the Israelis to see which way the Palestinians wanted to go..

It's sadly apparent that the Palestinians failed the test miserably...

Michale.....