January 26, 2006
As if things weren't complicated enough...
We now have, in Palestine, a democratically elected terrorist regime. Iran is thrilled. Europe is less than thrilled. The US and Israel have refused to deal with a Hamas-led government.
Democracy is no cure-all. It's not even morally superior. It's just a tool of statecraft.
All this really does is prove what a lot of people have been saying all along: the Palestianians aren't really interested in any peace that doesn't involve the destruction of Israel. This is nothing new. The only new thing is that peaceniks and other miscreants can no longer argue that the Palestinians are really a peace-loving, victimized people who would be happy to work with Israel and the rest of the world if only they were given a chance. No, in their first truly democratic election they go and choose an Iran-supported terror cell in a landslide.
Fun times.
Very frightening. Reminds me of the curse "May you live in interesting times."
Pretty interesting so far. Makes me wonder if it will be getting anymore interesting.
Posted by: Nathan at January 26, 2006 06:43 PMReminds me of one of the books I'm reading right now, Amy Chua's World on Fire (Chua's a Yale Law School professor with a background at the World Bank). The basic thesis is that (1) the spread of unregulated free markets (as enforced by the World Bank and promoted by us, for instance) has lead to the concentration of disproportionate wealth in the hands of resented ethnic minorities (Chinese in Indonesia, for instance) and (2) the spread of democracy has provided a means for the resentful majority to strike back at the perceived injustice (which frequently involves no real wrong-doing). It's an interesting book, I think you'd enjoy it if you get a chance.
Posted by: rob at January 29, 2006 01:33 PM