Tuesday, January 06, 2009

Is Hamas going down?


Iran's Gazan diversion? -Caroline Glick [pictured below/right]

[T]here are reasons to think that Israel may emerge the perceived victor in the current campaign against Hamas .

Indeed, this may already be happening. Hamas's leaders are reportedly hiding in hospitals - cynically using the sick as human shields. And Hamas's leadership in Damascus sent representatives to their new arch-enemy Egypt to begin discussing cease-fire terms. Taken together, these moves could indicate that Hamas is collapsing.

[M]uch to everyone's surprise, Iran may have decided to let Hamas lose. Iran seems to have little interest in [having Hezbolah] expand the war.

Iran simply miscalculated. It believed that ahead of Israel's February elections, the lame-duck Olmert-Livni-Barak government, which was already traumatized by the 2006 war, would opt not to fight. This would have been a reasonable assumption.

[F]or the moment at least, it appears that Iran has decided to let Hamas go down. As far as Iran is concerned, even a Hamas defeat is not a terrible option. This view is likely encouraged by Israel's current suggested cease-fire. After all, international monitors stationed along Gaza's borders will not serve as an impediment to future Iranian moves to rebuild Hamas.

[I]t is possible that Iran ordered the current war in Gaza for the same reason it launched its war in 2006: to divert international attention away from its nuclear program.

[E]ven if Israel beats Hamas, we could still lose the larger war by again having allowed Iran to get us to take our eyes away from the prize.
[Jerusalem Post]

3 comments:

LHwrites said...

An interesting thesis. Time will tell.

LHwrites said...

Interesting picture, by the way.

Bruce said...

Thankx...i've had that picture in my files for some time, knowing there'd be a good time to use it. Ms. Glick gave me the opportunity.