On "Where to go from Gaza?"

Submitted by Robert Guinaugh (United States), Jun 30, 2006 at 10:52

Mr. Pipes:

The challenge for US diplomats who've had to walk on the tightrope of the Israeli/Palestinian mutual existence dilemma has always been the existence of an undeniable vow on the part of the Palestinian terrorist factions and leaders that Israel must perish.

In your recent article that cited the Pew Poll, we clearly see what any objective observer of the Middle East turmoil already knows when it comes to the Muslim position on Israel.

There can be no negotiations or forward moving discussions with Hamas when it comes to stabilizing a peaceful co-existence with Israel and that is a plain fact. I applauded the Bush administration throughout his first term in refusing to have dialogue with Arafat entirely. After all, how could a U.S. president agree to have diplomatic discussions with a murderer, rapist, and a known liar? Unfortunately, now that Hamas is the new sheriff in town, the chance for any meaningful diplomatic influence by the U.S. with Palestine is again nil.

Hamas' constituency has been experiencing the consequences of what happens when you allow nothing more than a gang of thugs to rule in recent months. Like all gangs of thugs in the past, their demise is imminent, be it by implosion or extermination.

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