[lit-ideas] Re: time for a re-think
- From: dsavory@xxxxxxxxx
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 26 Jan 2006 12:15:23 -0800
Hamas victory a wake-up call for Mideast
Huge vote for Islamist party likely to send shockwaves through region
In an overwhelming victory, the Islamic militant party Hamas has effectively
taken control of the Palestinian government after winning an unforseen 76
seats in the 132-seat Palestinian parliament.
While both the United States and Israel consider Hamas to be a terrorist
organization, which they refuse to recognize or negotiate with, the results of
the election are clear. With voter turnout reportedly as high as 77 percent
out of the 1.3 million eligible voters, and the elections considered free and
fair by outside observers, a Hamas mandate is undisputed.
So there it is, nice and clear and easy for everyone to see.
The Hamas victory is a wake up call for the US, not the Middle East. It is
clear that militant Islam is the ideology of choice for the majority of
Palestinians, as it is for Iranians and probably for Iraqis as well. Thus, the
clash of civilizations, the cognitive dissonance and the resulting paradigm
shift are gonna reside in the American adjustment to Islamic nationalism not
on the Islamic adjustment to democracy; it's clear that Muslims know what they
want and now that we've encouraged them to achieve it, we're have to be happy
for them. It's gonna be fun watching the US Administration tap dance around
freely and fairly elected governments that hate their guts. Or else it will do
what administrations have done for over 150 years in Central and South
America: deem grassroots nationalism "communism" or "terrorism" and go kick
some ass.
David Savory
Vancouver
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