Hamas

It's awfully hard to get excited about "cease-fires" in Israel-Palestine, but this does feel substantial, doesn't it? I wonder how Abbas will try to reign in Hamas? Or will Hamas morph into a different organization. I don't see any way Hamas, as it exists now, can coexist with Israel peacefully. As an organization, it refuses to recognize the Israeli state. What is interesting, however, in this coverage, is that it points out the Palestinian problem - which are militants unwilling to try to force ahead for peace, but neglects to mention that Israel has the same type of militants on the other side. Sharon is in danger anytime he concedes anything to the Palestinians, as Rabin learned the hard way. We rarely hear about this intense pressure on Sharon, who I commend in his bravery to go against what he has stood for his entire life because he sees the necessesity of change for the long term survival of the Israeli state.

IF...and that's a big IF, this works and some type of Palestinian state can be set up in the next couple of years, with the recognition by other Arab states and the UN...well, that will really take the wind out of the sails for the Islamofascists, won't it? All of sudden, 5-8 years after 9/11, the facists will have lost their home base (Afghanistan), lost their biggest souce of popular support in the world (Palestinian-Israeli issue), and perhaps biggest of all, the future for Arab countries will look brighter with democratic reforms in Iraq demonstrating that indeed, the Arab world is capable of having a functioning democracy.