generalspeaking

Wounded Gaza

Hail to the warriors of God, they have prevailed. Ismail Haniya has rediscovered the courage to emerge from his deep hiding place, now that Israeli troops have departed of their free will, and their wish to accommodate international opinion, and to offer the gift of respite to the civilian Gazans. Of course, it would not do to mar a day of jubilation for Americans, welcoming into office their new commander in chief, either.

The result, is that the international community is most definitely not pleased with Israel, and there are those from within that community who threaten to charge the country with human rights offences, in an international criminal court. Another result is the bombast erupting from Hamas, announcing a "great victory"; that the unilaterally announced Israeli truce validates the 'resistance'.

"God has granted us a great victory, not for one faction or party, or area, but for our entire people", he crowed. "We have stopped the aggression and the enemy has failed to achieve any of its goals." The goals, for example, to bring a halt to the incessant rocket attacks into Israel from Gaza. They were minimized in incidence to be sure, but not entirely halted. What can any rational mind think of the pathological irrationality of such a presumption of 'victory'?

In the process of teaching Hamas a lesson, bringing the full force of Israeli military might down on the Hamas government infrastructure, their militias and supporters, hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of civilians, men, women and children lost their lives. This is the victory that God has granted to Hamas. It took a little bit of planning on the part of the Hamas leadership, but it worked.

The Israeli offensive against the Hamas provocation served Hamas very well indeed. It brought together an outraged Arab and Muslim world in fuming indignation over Israel's terroristic response against Hamas depravity, victimizing Palestinians. It brought down the indignation of the international community against Israel's 'disproportionate' response to aggravated violence against its people.

Best of all, it captured the hearts of the world, in a pre-programmed and eminently successful drama encapsulated hour by hour through video distribution, courtesy of Hamas public relations, of Gazans piteously mourning their dead, horrified by the measure of military might brought to bear upon them, leaving them distraught, wounded, homeless, bereft of food and of heat and of medicines.

This, of course, is what occurs when no solution appears on the horizon to an intractable problem, when one country's security is surrendered to a constant state of terror imposed by another which aspires to destroy it entirely and capture the geography for its very own, and the international community while giving lip service to the inviolability of Israel's right of existence cares little about its fragility.

Which is precisely the reason that Israel finally reached the decision it did, to cross that border and destroy the infrastructure of the unrecalcitrant jihadists who cunningly and heartlessly choose to sacrifice the innocent in a macabre dance of death, destruction and blame. So well calibrated and choreographed that world opinion lends itself willingly, handsomely to its design.

Victory is Hamas's simply because it has not been destroyed. With the exception of some hundreds of its dispensable fighters, and most of its infrastructure, its weapons depots, many of its smuggling tunnels. All can, and will be, handily replaced. Most of the leadership is intact; certainly the elite leadership, handily self-exiled into Lebanon and Syria, pulling the mechanistic strings from a safe perch.

As the personal losses of ordinary Palestinians continue to filter out through various news agencies, now prowling the scene of the unmitigated civilian disaster, and the world stands agape at the selective visions of what a war visits upon civilians, Israel's international reputation, already heavily weighted in a swamp of accusations, slumps further still.

Ah, the victorious, triumphant and shrilly celebratory Hamas. Happy to launch another 20 rockets in the wake of Israel's cease-fire declaration. But now, however temporarily, all is still. That additional taunting, however, declared emphatically that no amount of iron and blasting would deter Hamas's purpose.

And while the bitterness and blame of the Palestinians against the Israelis continues to soar, as the people of Gaza attempt to pathetically pick through the ruins of their homes to find something salvageable, Israelis suffer their crises of conscience, mourning for the deaths of Palestinians, fuming helplessly that they have been manoeuvred into acting out their part in the predestined Hamas choreograph of triumph.

All those deaths, all that destruction, and for what, actually? Does it further the aspirations of the Palestinians one iota? Can those lost lives be recovered? Does that show of military might do anything but persuade Palestinians that there is no hope for a moderate, normal life for them and their children? It's another round in the ongoing game of martyr-seeking and death-dealing.

If there is a winning formula in all of this, it's deftly hiding itself from the eureka of discovery.

Labels: Middle East, Political Realities, Troublespots

posted by Pieface @ Tuesday, January 20, 2009