Thursday, June 14, 2007

Bad News on Gaza


The Palestinian Civil War between Fatah and Hamas elevated dramatically today as U.S. news reporting hit a new low. CBS called the Palestinian Unity Government "the best hope for peace"which in and of itself is patently false. Neither the U.S. or Israel, key components of peace, had recognized the unity government recently brokered by Saudi Arabia. Hamas and Fatah couldn't work together to garner that $3 billion in promised Saudi aid.

Iran and Syria received credit for inspiring Hamas. The Saudi's got no press at all despite trying to bring unwilling parties in the region to the table to purue peace.

So what happen's now? Condi Rice, U.S. Secretary of State committed to standing firmly on the sidelines, much as she did last year while Israel blitzed Lebanon for over a month. Might that be Israel's next step? Five thousand Hezbollah fighters equaled terrorists and Israel invaded. Hamas meets that same criteria and is geographically isolated in a narrow strip along the coast.

The parties have bumbled for decades while "working" toward a two state solution. I can't imagine Israel or the U.S. will go for a three state version. Bush and Olmert clearly want to get "their war on" given their historical positions on Hamas. The question is "on how many fronts the pair can fight at the same time?"

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