Posted by
James Biga on Thursday, May 31, 2007 7:05:46 PM
I penned the followin post at Opinoneditorials.com on 2 February 2006. I figured it was time for a revisit. My opinion of this heinous human being has not changed.
The head of the political bureau of Hamas, Khalid Mish’al, had a commentary posted in the Guardian on Tuesday, January 31st. The title, “We will not sell our people or principles for foreign aid” is all you need to know what follows. The opening sentence … “The Palestinians are among the most politicized and educated peoples in the world” provides the initial salvo and continues to launch political duds. Being pro-Israel, I had to prepare myself to read, what I knew to be typical, anti-Israeli, anti-western screed. Mr. Mish’al was about to tell me how the “Palestinians” were righteous and the rest of us are inferior dogs. I knew he wouldn’t use these words exactly. He would dodge and parry legitimate arguments. He would try to explain democracy to the democratic world. It’s the equivalent of being a shoe salesman and explaining business to Bill Gates.
Mr. Mish’al accuses “the worlds leading democracies of failing the test of democracy because they have not recognized the legitimacy of Hamas as a freely elected representative of the Palestinian people”. What Mr. Mish’al misses is we do recognize Hamas’ electoral legitimacy. We recognize the fact that the “Palestinian people” elected a known terrorist organization as its representative. Every action has a reaction. This bit of information not only comes from our parents and teachers, it has been proven throughout history. Had the proper reaction been taken 70 years ago, Nazism would have been killed before it got a chance to start. Had the proper response been given in 1948, the problems in the Middle East would be entirely different. Had countries recognized Israel as a partner on the world stage, there would have been no refugees. Had countries decided to deal diplomatically and in business with Israel, the current situation would never have been given a chance to rise. But, the reaction given has been proven to be the wrong one. The sad part is, in defeating the invading armies; Israel exposed the weakness in the Arab and Persian world. Their pride was sorely beaten. Instead of taking a serious look inward and correcting their faults, they flaunted them and have made their faults their ideology. Their shortcomings are the banner they wave as they go into continuous battle with the country that exposed them.
Mr. Mish’al states that “We are being punished simply for resisting oppression and striving for justice.” I would ask why he hasn’t responded to the past injustices done to them by Jordan and Egypt. How many Arab and Muslim countries kicked out the “Palestinian refugees?” The same countries that now financially support and provide aid are the ones that don’t want you in their country. Even after the initial defeat, there was a possibility to achieve peace. Leaving Israel in their tiny sliver of land caused no financial hardship on anyone. Opening business relations with them could have made the Middle East a very prosperous place. Instead, hatred was chosen. Instead of working to correct problems, the “Palestinians” live by them. The Arab and Muslim world support this. Leftist and other elitists support this. Hatred is a very powerful weapon. In the end it usually kills the hater, but not before it takes out quite a few innocents.
Mr. Mish’al also brags about the “...Thousands of martyrs”, “….the millions of refugees”, and the “… 9,000 political and war prisoners in Israeli jails have not made these sacrifices in order to settle for close to nothing.” The martyrs that have been sacrificed were your potential country’s future. How much anguish and despair was caused by the useless loss of life. How much hatred had to be developed in order to attain eternal bliss with 72 virgins? When did thousands turn into millions? And of the so-called millions of refugees, how many were actually alive in 1948? This is just another prevarication to get new sympathy. As for the prisoners, the sacrifice was for far worse than close to nothing. It was for nothing. They were tools used to keep a certain ideological group in power. This keeps the money flowing to the true oppressors. The “Palestinian people” have no one to blame but themselves. They have sacrificed to achieve nothing. Worse yet, they are continuing to destroy themselves and take great joy in this.
“Hamas is immune to bribery, intimidation and blackmail.” This one made me laugh. Not a funny laugh, but a cynically disgusted laugh. Hamas is under the control of anyone who provides money. I would assume that the biggest contributor now is Iran. This makes them openly bribed and blackmailed. If they decide to bite the hand that feeds them they will receive more than intimidation. Being elected doesn’t negate this responsibility to their sponsors. Iran is progressively pushing their brand of government through the Middle East. Using a similar enemy, Israel, and a similar result, Islamic Law, they will continue to use and manipulate anyone to their cause. Hamas is now the little fish in the big sea. In order to stay alive, they will have to concede to the desires of the big fish around them. Mr. Mish’al is talking the big game while he hopes not to have to get off the bench. A cliché in the United States covers this pretty well. “If you can’t run with the big dogs, don’t get off the porch.”
Mr. Mish’al then states that he expects the Muslim and Arab nations to step in and make up the difference in the loss of aid and then demands that these same countries lift all restrictions on civil society institutions that fundraise for the Palestinian cause. Big talk from a little man usually gets him knocked out. In this case, countries will probably do what is asked. This won’t last for long. When the money slows down, the blame will be fully tossed onto the shoulders of the west. Mr. Mish’al’s demands are more of the same old rhetoric.
Mr. Mish’al ends with the standard Middle Eastern contradiction. “We shall never recognize the legitimacy of a Zionist state created on our soil…” followed by “But if you are willing to accept the principle of a long-term truce, we are prepared to negotiate the terms.” Even novice knowledge of the Koran and its Hadith’s realize what a truce represents to the Muslim world. The fact that they don’t recognize Israel’s legitimacy shines light on the end result of the truce. The word jizya is making the rounds. This doesn’t bode well for non-Muslims. It also doesn’t bode well if Israel does get sucked into the reign of a Caliphate.
Diplomacy has not worked. Talking only gives countries an opportunity to build up their forces and prepare for the inevitable war. The western world wants peace. The Muslim world wants an Islamic Caliphate. These ideas cannot live together. Men with similar ideas have a hard time dealing with each other. Men with dissimilar ideas will eventually face a confrontation. Whether it is now or in the not so distant future, the face to face confrontation is coming. Better now, when the odds are in the favor of the people who seek to live in peace, than later, when the caliphate is on the rise.