Well all kind of round ups are taking place over the hits of Gaza this week and there are quite a few surprises. Lets start a Powerline Blog.
In Calling Hamas pt 2 they look at the tactic of hiding being civilians:
The video vividly illustrates how Hamas uses civilians as shields against a humane enemy, making the avoidance of civilian casualties virtually impossible. Hamas’ conduct is illegal and evil. Under the circumstances, the Bush administration’s instruction to Israel to avoid civilian casualties at best represents a kind of confusion regarding the challenges Israel faces on each of its borders. The challenges are akin to those the United States faces in its own engagements in the region, so it is hard to believe that the problem is one of intellectual clarity rather than political cowardice.
They also touch upon coverage and attempts to scrub things in Hamas’ favor. Referencing the blogs Mere Rhetoric and I*Consult. Note also this post at I*consult concerning the Washington Post ended up pulling some “fake” photography.
Powerline further notes that the Arab governments are not following as blindly in these two posts.
Our next stop is Hotair where the Captain notes a change in the air:
The Sunni Arab nations see less of a threat from Israel than from Iran, the Persian Shi’ite nation bent on establishing regional hegemony. Hamas gets its funding and direction from Tehran, in part through its Syrian ally. Egypt has no desire to see Iran establish a satellite nation on its border and on the Mediterranean, and the Saudis won’t much care for it either. Hamas’ war gave the Sunni moderates an opportunity to isolate their leadership among Arab nations, enough of an opportunity to do it publicly.
Personally I think this is part of the success of the Iraq war, they know which horse is strong and they know who the #1 killer of Muslims is, and it isn’t the US or Israel. Iran is giving them an excuse and they are going to take it.
Gateway pundit notes the reactions of CAIR and Hamas and sees that they are the same. Funny I don’t recall CAIR condemning the rocket attacks on Israel.
He notes that Egypt is not towing the line and has video:
Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit harshly censured Hamas today (27 Dec), placing responsibility for the current situation on Hamas. At a noon press conference broadcast on Egyptian television, he said that Egypt had repeatedly cautioned against continuing the situation and that whoever did not listen (Hamas) should assume responsibility and not blame others.
Michelle notes Israellycool’s liveblogging but you already knew about that didn’t you.
Meryl Yourish notes that the causalities seem to be the right ones.
The bad news is that Ismail Haniyeh is still alive. The good news is that it seems the casualty rate was about 94% terrorists.
She also names names:
Three senior terrorists bought the farm today. Unfortunately, we don’t know of any more. But still, the loss of two hundred Hamas terrorists is a good thing.
The 230 Palestinians killed in the Israeli air raid on Gaza Saturday included three senior officers: Tawfik Jabber, the commander of Hamas’ police force in Gaza; his adjutant, Ismail al-Ja’abri, commander of the defense and security directorate; and Abu-Ahmad Ashur, Hamas’ Gaza central district governor.
And targets:
IAF jets struck tunnels connecting the Palestinian and Egyptian sides of Rafah, a Gaza Strip border town which has become a main entry point into Gaza of weapons, dynamite and other smuggled military equipment and consumer goods.
And Snark. Oh bother, just keep going to her blog and keep scrolling.
Kos decries progressive response:
I remain confounded by the American progressive movement’s widespread refusal to stand behind the Palestinian people as they are subjected to an endless barrage of colonialist, racist aggression.
While Little Green Footballs, celebrates progressives inner Chester Arthur.
I, on the other hand, see it as a rare sign of wisdom. Not all “progressives” are as gullible and blind as “Daisy Cutter,” apparently.
CNN reports the president elect has been briefed bye Sec Rice but Obama is saying nothing. This looks like a vote for Chester Arthur to me.
Jules Crittenden also sees the hand of Bush in the Hamas’ lack of support in the Arab world and notes that the Washington Post doesn’t:
The Post must have missed the part about Bush and the unprecedented gathering of Arab states with Israel and other world powers, united in their revulsion of Hamas.
National Review has some debate; Cliff May on getting what you pay for:
Instead of proving to the world that they are capable of building a free and democratic state, the Palestinians voted in the militant Islamist group Hamas which – with support from Tehran — quickly turned Gaza into a terrorist enclave.
Hamas then took over full control of Gaza in a bloody operation against the Palestinian Authority and its supporters.
In June of 2006, Hamas “commandos” invaded Israel and kidnapped an Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit. The “international community” has been virtually silent about Shalit who — unlike the detainees at Guantamo – has never had access to the Red Cross much less to an attorney.
The real question now is will Israel do to Hamas what it failed to do to Hezbollah: demonstrate clearly that terrorism is a dead end – figuratively and literally — for those who employ it, sponsor it and support it?
Andy McCarthy dissents from the dead end theory:
For myself, I don’t think terrorism is a dead-end: It’s been a very successful strategy for Hezbollah and Hamas: the more atrocities they commit, the more the Europeans and factions of our State Department and our intelligence community want to negotiate with them — just as they want to embrace the Muslim Brotherhood, which ostensibly has given up terrorism but in actuality continues to preach it.
As for demonstrating that it is a dead-end, I suppose that depends on whom the demonstration is intended for. Hamas, for example, exists to be a terrorist organization. They are incorrigible, and there has already been enough demonstration for them that their methods work.
The question is whether the Palestinian people are educable. Which brings me back to the first point: the Palestinians voted to put in power — i.e., vest with the power of a quasi-sovereign government — a terrorist organization which thinks legitimate governing consists of bringing about the annihilation of its sovereign neighbor and, meantime, targeting the said neighbor’s civilian population with bombing attacks. When you do that, you make yourself a target.
As I recall in 1861 the southern states voted for secession and got what they voted for too. Lucky for Gaza Sherman isn’t in Israel.
Time will tell how this will all come out. Was Hamas testing Israel with the attacks this week? Did Iran want to see what would happen before their proxies hit from the north?
My take on it. This is a strategic move by Iran and a smart one. I personally think this is Iran’s war by proxy. Their best next move is an attack by Hezbollah as soon as possible. This would serve two purposes. It will divide the Israeli response and if it suckers Israel into Lebanon it could not only bog them down but might change the direction of the propaganda war.
Unfortunately no matter what happens even a total Israeli victory the winner here is Iran. As long as the world is talking about Gaza and rocket attacks and responses they are not touching the ongoing building of Nukes by Iran. I think this is all a sucker punch to keep the heat elsewhere. If Israel is hitting Gaza and or Lebanon they are not hitting Iranian nuke sites. They are buying time with Arab rather than Persian lives.
I could be wrong but we will see.
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