- Joined
- Dec 14, 2008
- Messages
- 1,341
- Reaction score
- 428
- Location
- All over
- Gender
- Male
- Political Leaning
- Moderate
Having travelled through much of the Middle East, I have found that the Israeli-Palestinian Question is not the extremist driven issue that it is often presented in Western media. I found myself struck by images of a young Palestinian girl asking, "Where are the Arabs?" Are Arab governments supposed to go to war with Hamas simply because Hamas provolked a war?
In a country that routinely presents dissenting views as monolithic and driven by iron clad ideology (think USSR before Islamic radicalism) there is the reality of what is happening on the ground. Suffice to say, Arabs, though culturally different than their Western Counterparts, are intelligent, thoughtful, and fully capable of making informed decisions that very often do not support radical aims.
That being said, "Where are the Arabs," is an interesting question, and one that needs to be presented in the actual context of Arab politics. Despite the TV images, the vast majority of Arabs are not out in the streets protesting Israel. So, where are they?
1. Unilateralism. Hamas should probably have taken its que from the man it loves to hate: Bush. Bush's decision to go it alone has had devestating consequences throughout the world and particularly in the region. I wonder if Hamas contacted any governments in the region to see if they would support their decision to start a war with Israel? Was there support in Cairo, Jordan, Beruit, or, given the half hearted support, even from Damascus? As these countries are the only ones strategically placed to come to their assistance, perhaps consulting with them would have been adviseable before engaging in military conflict with a much more powerful neighbor?
Instead they went alone, and now wonder why they are alone.
2. Arab or Persian? Hamas's main benefactor is Iran, and there is little doubt that Hamas is attempting to emulate Hizbollah's success in Lebanon. Unfortunately, there are a couple of things that Hamas neglected to calculate:
a. The blueprint is not universaly successful. Though Hizbollah was moderately successful, Shia extremist groups funded by Iran in Iraq have been severely weakened and their attacks have provolked profound animosity from the Iraqi government and people despite the majority Shia composition of both.
b. Enemies adapt. Israel learned some hard lessons in Lebanon, and have adapted accordingly. They are unlikley to repeat the callous, head strung rush into the teeth of a prepared defense. Much more likely will be the careful study of Hamas defense followed by the systemic dismantaling of those defenses through combined arms operations that slowly and methodically wear down Hamas.
c. Iranian help brings a hefty price. Arab governments in the Middle East are very wary of a state that seeks to export its Revolutionary zeal and has its hands overtly in Iraq, Lebanon, and Palestine (all Arab states) and to a less overt extent in Saudi Arabia, and smaller Gulf States where it has extended ties with Shia miniorities in ways that have made Arab governments cautious. As Hamas is following the Iranian blueprint, there is no sane Arab government that wants to add any additional fuel to fire further Iranian success and influence in the region.
The real question Hamas should be asking is, "Where are the Persians that helped put us up to this?"
Remembering that Iran is thousands of miles away with hostile American and Israelis between them as well as frosty Arab governments may also be coming late in realization.
3. There such a thing as numbness. The Palestinian Question has been dragging on for over half a century. Arab governments have gone to war several times and have attempted to milk this issue for political progress in their own regimes. Arab states are filled with veterans from these wars (both military and political) and they are not keen to get involved in yet another war with or about Israel. On the contrary, Palestine and its constant conflict are rapidly becoming the regions 'Boy who Cried Wolf.'
Most Arabs want Palestine to exist, but they also acknowledge that Israel has a right to exist as well. What most Arabs seem to want is a settlement that will solve this issue in an equitable manner.
With Hamas, that is not possible.
Hamas threatened to undue all past agreements with Israel, and refuses to acknowledge that Israel has a right to exist. Negotiating with Hamas is impossible, as any concession given is viewed as a step toward the eventual elimination of Israel rather than as a step toward peace and co-existance. If Hamas is successful in this war, it will mean the continual spiral of lip-service followed by war. Do the Palestinians in Gaza want this all to happen again in a year or two when Hamas decides to fire a few more rockets to be glorious resisters rather than responsible govenors?
Cairo, Jordan, Beruit, and even Damascus have all found arrangements with Israel, and the West Bank government presents an opportunity to negotiate toward peace. The question presented by Hamas is simple, settlement or war (where Palestinians lives are presented as emotional bargaining chips on the the table of politics).
There are few indeed whose hearts do not go out to the Gazans enduring the effects of war, but Arabs, and indeed much of the world, are tired of Palestinian misery being used as excuse for bad decision making and repeated military confrontation that Arabs are not asking for and do not support.
The solution is simple, there is such a thing as dialoge. It solves problems far better than bullets, and its consequences are far more manageable than the gambling of war. A lesson Hamas should have taken from American misadventures in the region.
In a country that routinely presents dissenting views as monolithic and driven by iron clad ideology (think USSR before Islamic radicalism) there is the reality of what is happening on the ground. Suffice to say, Arabs, though culturally different than their Western Counterparts, are intelligent, thoughtful, and fully capable of making informed decisions that very often do not support radical aims.
That being said, "Where are the Arabs," is an interesting question, and one that needs to be presented in the actual context of Arab politics. Despite the TV images, the vast majority of Arabs are not out in the streets protesting Israel. So, where are they?
1. Unilateralism. Hamas should probably have taken its que from the man it loves to hate: Bush. Bush's decision to go it alone has had devestating consequences throughout the world and particularly in the region. I wonder if Hamas contacted any governments in the region to see if they would support their decision to start a war with Israel? Was there support in Cairo, Jordan, Beruit, or, given the half hearted support, even from Damascus? As these countries are the only ones strategically placed to come to their assistance, perhaps consulting with them would have been adviseable before engaging in military conflict with a much more powerful neighbor?
Instead they went alone, and now wonder why they are alone.
2. Arab or Persian? Hamas's main benefactor is Iran, and there is little doubt that Hamas is attempting to emulate Hizbollah's success in Lebanon. Unfortunately, there are a couple of things that Hamas neglected to calculate:
a. The blueprint is not universaly successful. Though Hizbollah was moderately successful, Shia extremist groups funded by Iran in Iraq have been severely weakened and their attacks have provolked profound animosity from the Iraqi government and people despite the majority Shia composition of both.
b. Enemies adapt. Israel learned some hard lessons in Lebanon, and have adapted accordingly. They are unlikley to repeat the callous, head strung rush into the teeth of a prepared defense. Much more likely will be the careful study of Hamas defense followed by the systemic dismantaling of those defenses through combined arms operations that slowly and methodically wear down Hamas.
c. Iranian help brings a hefty price. Arab governments in the Middle East are very wary of a state that seeks to export its Revolutionary zeal and has its hands overtly in Iraq, Lebanon, and Palestine (all Arab states) and to a less overt extent in Saudi Arabia, and smaller Gulf States where it has extended ties with Shia miniorities in ways that have made Arab governments cautious. As Hamas is following the Iranian blueprint, there is no sane Arab government that wants to add any additional fuel to fire further Iranian success and influence in the region.
The real question Hamas should be asking is, "Where are the Persians that helped put us up to this?"
Remembering that Iran is thousands of miles away with hostile American and Israelis between them as well as frosty Arab governments may also be coming late in realization.
3. There such a thing as numbness. The Palestinian Question has been dragging on for over half a century. Arab governments have gone to war several times and have attempted to milk this issue for political progress in their own regimes. Arab states are filled with veterans from these wars (both military and political) and they are not keen to get involved in yet another war with or about Israel. On the contrary, Palestine and its constant conflict are rapidly becoming the regions 'Boy who Cried Wolf.'
Most Arabs want Palestine to exist, but they also acknowledge that Israel has a right to exist as well. What most Arabs seem to want is a settlement that will solve this issue in an equitable manner.
With Hamas, that is not possible.
Hamas threatened to undue all past agreements with Israel, and refuses to acknowledge that Israel has a right to exist. Negotiating with Hamas is impossible, as any concession given is viewed as a step toward the eventual elimination of Israel rather than as a step toward peace and co-existance. If Hamas is successful in this war, it will mean the continual spiral of lip-service followed by war. Do the Palestinians in Gaza want this all to happen again in a year or two when Hamas decides to fire a few more rockets to be glorious resisters rather than responsible govenors?
Cairo, Jordan, Beruit, and even Damascus have all found arrangements with Israel, and the West Bank government presents an opportunity to negotiate toward peace. The question presented by Hamas is simple, settlement or war (where Palestinians lives are presented as emotional bargaining chips on the the table of politics).
There are few indeed whose hearts do not go out to the Gazans enduring the effects of war, but Arabs, and indeed much of the world, are tired of Palestinian misery being used as excuse for bad decision making and repeated military confrontation that Arabs are not asking for and do not support.
The solution is simple, there is such a thing as dialoge. It solves problems far better than bullets, and its consequences are far more manageable than the gambling of war. A lesson Hamas should have taken from American misadventures in the region.
Last edited:
