No one seems to be writing opinion pieces quite the way I would, so I decided to do it myself.

The name? Taverns are places where one goes to discuss the interesting events and things in the world, so this is my tavern.

I will offer my views on politics, economics, and whatever else strikes my fancy.
I will occasionally publish the entire article from another journal for purposes of causing discussion.

 

Terrorism and Peace in Israel/Palestine

The San Francisco Chronicle has an article today about Nancy Pelosi sending a letter to Bush supporting Sharon's efforts to kill the leader of HAMAS after the recent suicide bombing.

Actually, the increase in terrorist attacks by HAMAS is an indication of their fear that the Path to Peace and the new PLO Prime Minister just might establish a Palestinian nation next to Israel. They have to do what they can to derail the Peace efforts. Sharon is right to attack those in HAMAS who are leading the effort, because HAMAS will never accept the existence of an Israeli state.

In a different article SF Chronicle on HAMAS describes the HAMAS organization. A key is the statement in the HAMAS Charter:
"Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it."

HAMAS has developed a strong grassroots following by providing efficient government services in Gaze when the PLO failed to do so. HAMAS is also seen as better than the PLO because it does not suffer from corruption as the PLO has. It exists for the sole purpose of fighting the existence of Israel.

From the article:
Sharon has pledged that Israel will "fight the terrorist organizations and their leaders to the death." But Ranstorp says that Sharon has a broader vision that precludes dealing the group a death blow.

"Israel knows every Hamas leader, every senior member and how they make their decisions," he said. Eliminating Hamas "is something Israel can do blindfolded if it wanted to, but it's not in Israel's interests to completely clip the wings of Hamas, which is a useful counterweight against the Palestinian Authority."
Even if Israel were willing to decapitate the organization's leadership, as it has threatened, the question remains: Is Israel capable of destroying Hamas?

The group's ability to mount continued attacks, despite Israel's heavy military presence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, suggest that the army is not able to stop the group, which has a powerful grass-roots structure and cuts across social and class lines.

Ismail Abu-Shanab, a Hamas leader in Gaza, told Al-Jazeera satellite TV on Thursday that an all-out war "will make Hamas stronger."

"The Israelis experienced this in 1992 when terrorist (former Israeli Prime Minister) Rabin deported Hamas leaders to southern Lebanon," he said. "What results did he get? The resistance escalated and Hamas' capabilities for action were heightened. We are not afraid at all."

No plan is going to bring Peace to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict any time soon. Only the exhaustion of the Palestinians, the effective exclusion of Arafat from the situation and the exclusion of support from the Arab nations will do that. The Israelis are already quite exhausted from the battle, but the US guarantees their existence so they will fight on. The PLO and the Palestinians in general have, I think, accepted that the violence and the resulting low living standards are not worth the price of a religious war they cannot win.

HAMAS, however, is an outgrowth of the Muslim Brotherhood, the most extreme of the fundamentalist extremists. The Egyptian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood joined with Al Quada years ago and provided much of Al Quada's leadership today. We in the US know very well how they use terrorism in the support of their beliefs. The leaders of HAMAS see the conflict much as do the leaders of Al Quada.

I don't know how things will play out, but neither does anyone else in the world. I do think that we may be watching what could be the end-game in the Arab-Israeli conflict.

As long as it is clear to the world that we guarantee the existence of Israel, and will equally guarantee the existence of a viable, peaceful Palestinian state, then the end result may be one that the Islamic fundamentalists rail against and spend the lives of their children, but that will only depress the living standards of all the people in the area. It will change nothing important. Sooner or later, cooler heads will prevail.

The current bombs, missiles, blood and funerals do nothing except feed the world TV news. When overwhelming majorities on each side accept that, then the extremists will be caged and the violence will end.
posted by Richard at 4:10 PM