Mark Steyn, on the mythical "Palestinians":

Seasoned observers have been making droll cracks about a "two-state solution" - Hamas gets Gaza, Fatah gets the West Bank. But even that cynical jest is wishful thinking. The better bet is that the West Bank will eventually fall Hamas' way, too.

This is the logical consequence of the fraudulence of "Palestinian nationalism". There has never been any such thing. There is no evidence anywhere in the "Palestinian Authority" that anyone there is interested in building a state and running it. In conventional post-colonial scenarios of the Sixties and Seventies, liberation movements used terrorism as a means to advance nationalism. By contrast, Arafat's gang used nationalism as a means to advance terrorism. With him out of the way, it was deluded to assume that the "Palestinian people" would stick with a bunch of corrupt secular socialists with little appeal to anyone other than French intellectuals and Swiss bankers.

Want to see what Iraq will look like if we abandon it to the Islamists? Just look at Gaza.

We should invade Gaza.

Gaza have a history of using WMD anywhere? Invading neighboring countries? Is Gaza capable of turning wealth generated by natural resources into weapons that can threaten the entire region?

Regardless, Israel will take care of Gaza.

Regardless, Israel will take care of Gaza.
Nice job so far. Like weakening Fatah by nourishing and supporting Hamas when the latter was obscure. Or maybe you just don't know the history.

Main point is, if the fear of an Islamist takeover keeps us in Iraq, isn't the current existence of an Islamist state in Gaza not a more pressing reason for us to get in there? Just trying to be consistent you know.

Actually, I could see a case for invading Gaza, if AQ set up shop there in a big way.

More likely, we'd encourage the Israelis to do it for us, but I think that'd be a good enough reason regardless.

No, Gaza doesn't have the same degree of power. It in fact is already contained both by its allies and enemies.

Offside, read slowly so that maybe you can understand:

Different countries, different situations, different strategies.

Hamas is part and parcel of the network of Salafi jihadism, of the Muslim Brotherhood, nurtured by Al Azhar graduates like the late Sheik Yassin, financed by a network of Salafi and Wahhabi financial, educational, philanthropic and propagandist institution,(CAIR is an example of
the latter)Fatah arose out of the same network,
more directly tired to the families of Sheik
Haj Amin Husseini, rather than Qutb and Al Banna.
Nominally nationalist, this pretense really was
exposed in light of Post Oslo developments. This is how a leading member of Fatah's Force 17 security services, Imad Mugniyeh, could rise to be the chief of Hezbollah's operations. This rivalry about tactics led to the intramural
civil war between Fatah and Hezbollah, charcterized in the 'Battle of the Camps" in Bourj-a-Baranej,after the American 'reployment'
of American forces from there in the mid 80s. This misnderstanding, led some elements of the Israeli security services, to provide funding for Hamas in the late 70s & 80s, as a counterweight to Fatah. Gaza was always an extension of the
Egyptian & colonial authorities, unlike the Southern Lebanon region, which was caught between Egyptian and Syrian influences. Greater Gaza and
to a lesser extent, is currently more akin to the
factional fighting between rival Mujahadeen of the Peshawar Circle, (Hekmatyar, Gailani et al vs. the Khalis/Raisul Sayyaf elements that would
make up Al Queda and the Taliban respectfully, or
the tribal factions of early 1990s Somalia.

Today's WaPo syas that the operative term used by Hamas to characterize Fatah is the "Jew American Army." That happens to be pretty close to what our troops are called in Iraq, where apparently they are called "The Jews". Islamization is complete! And now being American and being a Jew are synonymous! Took them Arabs a long time to figure that out eh? ;-)

I never did see what the big problem is with civil wars in the area. Better they kill each other than us, oh sure Hamas, being backed by the Iranians is more likely to turn on us as well as Israel, but let them get weakened by a war with Fatah first. By then the Israelis will do it for us, and all we'll have to do is veto the inevitable UN resolution condemning Israel for defending itself.

Toast_n_Tea wrote:

And now being American and being a Jew are synonymous! Took them Arabs a long time to figure that out eh? ;-)

I remember when that process got underway. I was reading about a BBC reporter talking to a couple of Arab "men in the street". The first was talking about the importance of fighting the Jews, and also fighting America. His companion corrected him, saying there was no need to distinguish the Jews from America since America is 60% Jewish.

saying there was no need to distinguish the Jews from America since America is 60% Jewish.

Good now that America is Jewish, we should have the Israelis pack up and move over here. ;-)