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Hamas Election

What do I think about the Palestinian Election?

Peoples Front of Judea or Judean Peoples Front?

Hamas or Fatah, can anyone give me a dimes worth of difference between the two? If you can't either then nothing has really changed. I am happy that they have managed to have an election. But elections and free societies as Venezuelans will agree are two different things.

Ladies and gentleman, in times of controversy where you cant quite seem to make sense to the world, I point you to the first "Rule of The Bush Doctrine":

If you are a terrorist, or if you harbor terrorists, we shall make no distinction.

Ladies and Gentleman, I give you Hamas-istan!

And as a result, I think this is a good thing. The problem with al-queda is we've never had a country called al-quedastan to directly attack, so we always have to go through these proxies to get to the real enemy,but you see with Hamas now formally in charge of Palestine, its "one stop shopping".

You see, you can sit around and pretend that the bad actors are just a bunch of criminals that you can't stop but you cant do that if they are in the government. At that point, you are one and the same.

Is it an indictment of the idea behind democracy in the middle east? not at all. Democracy is not perfect and its not meant to be, but Democracy is accountable. "The People" are free to make choices but they are also to be held accountable for their actions,both good or bad. You cant elect Hamas and pretend you didnt know they meant to take you to war, thats precisely WHY you elected them. You cant play the victim if you have a crowbar and a molotov cocktail in your hands.You is the victim-izer baby!

The Germans once elected Hitler and the Nazis via a Democratic election. They knew what they were getting for their ballot. They also paid the price for that democratic decision. After it was settled up, they returned to Democracy, even with the possible risk of the "Nazi Problem" happening all over again.

Democracy for all its faults was still better than the alternative not because it could avoid "the next hitler", but because it was accountable.

Hamas has simply removed its own human shield from its arsenal. Nice move, jackasses.

Posted @ January 26, 2006 10:23 AM | Current Affairs

Comments

Why the difference between Fatah and Hamas is as clear as the sun. Fatah is the party of bullets and bombs, while Hamas is the party of bombs and bullets.

Posted by: Kerry at January 27, 2006 05:40 PM

As I mentioned in my post on this, 'So Much For The Peace Process', the only possible reason the Palestinians would switch horses is if they sensed that Fatah had become a little too docile and conciliatory. Not that Fatah had, but they weren't beating the "Death to Israel" drums quite as loudly.

Posted by: Giacomo at January 28, 2006 04:45 AM

I think this election showed the power of democracy. Hammas, as a terrorist organization, has now been crippled by the very people they claim to represent. Can Hammas take credit for a suicide bombing now? Heck no, that would mean that Israel and the US could honestly call Palestine a "terrorist nation".

Also, their focus has to shift, if they don't want to get elected back out. They have to focus now on economics and infrastructure and employment and all of those things. They can't just spend their days plotting against Israel, they've got a country to run.

My guess is that they will be spectacularly bad at running a country and the Palestinians themselves will turn on them.

All Israel has to do now is finish the wall and mind their own business. Hammas is in for a hell of a shakeup.

Democracy ALWAYS works. Sometimes it moves in mysterious ways, but it always works.

Posted by: Rob at January 30, 2006 08:53 AM

Hamas reminds me of a dog I once had that used to chase '66 Mustangs. That dog always went absolutely ape when that kind of car went by, no others, just that one type of car.

One day, the dog got loose and was finally allowed to chase its foe; a red '66 Mustang.

and he caught it, right by the 007 hubcaps, clamped on like his jaws were made by Craftsman tools, and began spinning like a power drill with the bit stuck in hardwood. He didnt let go until he ripped out half his teeth.

He never chased another car in his life,
and yet he didnt do the slightest bit of damage to the mustang.

Posted by: frank martin at January 30, 2006 09:33 AM

> Hamas or Fatah, can anyone give me a dimes worth of difference between the two?

...In a moment...

> the only possible reason the Palestinians would switch horses is if they sensed that Fatah had become a little too docile and conciliatory.

Uh, Jocko, did you actually *read* anything about why these people were voting for Hamas? I didn't read far and wide, but the areas controlled by Hamas, things were getting DONE... in terms of civil infrastructure -- sewers worked, water ran, etc. Areas controlled by Fatah were far less successful in that arena.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/01/17/wmid17.xml&sSheet=/news/2006/01/17/ixworld.html

As I read it, this was less about terrorism and more about what Palestinians REALLY should be seeking, which is a better life for themselves and their children -- a measure of stability and social fabric.

Whether this is a sign of underlying change of attitude or a simple moment of sanity, to be abandoned shortly, I can't say... but, assuming our State Department uses its purse strings correctly, this is not necessarily a bad thing. AFAIK, Hamas is no worse than Fatah, and may actually respond to a carrot properly dangled, with Israel's stick whickering through the air at the other end.

That, BTW, Frank, is the answer to your question. Apparently, there IS a difference.

Posted by: OhBloodyHell at January 31, 2006 03:02 PM