Friday, June 15, 2007

The Gathering Storm (Part 23966)

clipped from powerlineblog.com

The Bush administration placed its chips on Fatah. We promoted Mahmoud Abbas. We provided training to his "security forces." We pressured Israel to facilitate the opening of the Gaza crossing to Egypt under his (supposedly monitored) control. Eli Lake describes the rise of Hamas in Gaza as a defeat for the CIA. As Lake's reportage illustrates, it certainly humiliates the United States. It also directly threatens Israel.

For whom is it a victory? Recall that the head of Hamas resides in Damascus and reports to Iran. The rise of Hamas and the imposition of an Islamic state in Gaza echoes the Khomeni revolution of 1979 in Iran.

Why now? It seems highly unlikely that Hamas's move to seize the moment in Gaza lies anywhere but with Khomeni's successors in Iran.