Soccer Dad: Post better than times, but not by much

October 29, 2006

Post better than times, but not by much

Unlike last week's editorial in the NY Times Friday's editorial in the Washington Post isn't obsessed with Israel. By itself that automatically makes Lebanon's Aftermath better. (Not perfect; just better.) Alone the second paragraph tells us

Judging from what Israeli raids have been uncovering in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian militants are eager to imitate what they perceive as Hezbollah's success in standing up to the Israeli army in the villages of southern Lebanon -- and Iran's agents are just as eager to help them. Entering the border zone between Gaza and Egypt last week for the first time in months, Israeli forces found some 15 tunnels that they say were being used to smuggle sophisticated weapons, such as Russian-made Concourse anti-tank missiles, 122-millimeter Grad rockets and more than 15 tons of TNT. Firings of crude Qassam rockets from Gaza at nearby Israeli towns have continued, along with Israeli raids to capture or kill the militants behind them.

The details here, not in the Washington Post's reporting of the Middle East, tell a story that the New York Times refuses to acknowledge. (Washington Post editorials haven't, in the past, been so scrupulous in itemizing the threats against Israel. This is a welcome change.)

So just as the Israeli retreat from Lebanon is credited with encouraging the intifada later in 2000, Israel's failure to defeat Hezbollah decisively is serving notice that Israel is vulnerable and is encouraging the Hamas led Palestinian Authority to take advantage of it freedom and stockpile weapons to attack Israeli civilians.

The editorial continues ...

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who considered himself a winner of the war, is still sounding belligerent, warning publicly of the possibility of war between Israel and Syria. Israel responded this week by carrying out military maneuvers on the Golan Heights. Mr. Assad continues to harbor one of the architects of the war, Hamas leader Khaled Meshal. Mr. Meshal ordered the June raid inside Israel that began the fighting; now, from his perch in Damascus, he torpedoes attempts by Egypt and other Arab governments to broker accords to release the Israeli captive in Gaza and create a more moderate Palestinian government.

It's counterintutive (putting it mildly) to claim that deals involving the release of hundreds of convicted terrorists would create a "more moderate Palestinian government." And it's certainly not to Egypt's credit that it is working on such a deal.

Israel should be demanding Shalit's unconditional release. Any deal other than that, will serve to strengthen Hamas as it will validate their violation of the border.

At the fourth paragraph, though, the editorial slides into Times territory.

The Bush administration's policy for defusing this dangerous situation has amounted mostly to encouraging Egyptian mediation as well as a deal between Israel and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to ease the flow of goods between Gaza and Israel. But Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert resists acting before the Israeli soldier is released; meanwhile, he has bolstered his government by allying with a hard-line nationalist party that opposes most concessions to the Palestinians. Feelers by Syria about peace talks with Israel have been shunned.

Abbas is not a moderate. He's just more careful than Hamas. Things have to change, but an Israel agreement with the PA that involves legitimizing Hamas will only make matters worse. And again, it's hard to see how including a "hard-line nationalist party" into the government affects anything. Change - not forthcoming - needs to come from the PA side not from Israel.

It's not hard to predict where this is heading: toward events that will serve to further advance Iran's goal of radicalizing the Middle East. Those who stand to lose the most from that development -- Israel, Egypt and the United States -- are running out of time for their agenda of negotiations and confidence-building.

The time of negotiations and confidence building is well over. If it wasn't over in 2000 after Israel withdrew from Lebanon and offered Hafez Assad and Yasser Arafat over 90% of the territory they demanded, it was certainly over this past summer when Israel was attacked from two places it no longer had any control over - Gaza and Lebanon - conclusively proving that the issue isn't one of drawing borders but of Israel's existence. Anything short of a clearcut Israeli military victory or a change of Arab and Muslim hearts will continue serving Iran's goals. Negotiations have heartened the Islamists and Palestinian nationalists as it has provided them gains at no cost. To continue down the road of negotiation and compromise will only encourage them further.

Technorati tags: Israel, Washington Post, Hamas.