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2009-01-13 Israel-Palestine-Jordan

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Posted by gorb 2009-01-13 19:18|| || Front Page|| [11139 views ] Top

#1 Hamas remains defiant despite pounding

Time for MORE pounding.

Posted by DMFD 2009-01-13 19:59|| 2009-01-13 19:59|| Front Page Top

#2 I am not getting the impression that Hamas is taking all that much of a "pounding" of late. Judging from what I am reading from the IDF an Israelis live blogging events, it seems that they are getting hit with a series of bee stings rather than hammer blows from Israel.

On the surface it would appear that the political strategy in Gaza is the same as it was in Lebanon in 06. Stay engaged long enough for the international community to broker some kind of truce that puts a third party in place to monitor things. It looks like all this is designed to do is to get external monitors in place and that is about it.

Yes, Hamas has taken some serious hits but Israel does not have appeared to have unleashed a full-on "kick ass and take names" offensive.

Posted by crosspatch 2009-01-13 20:32|| 2009-01-13 20:32|| Front Page Top

#3 Put another way, the objective doesn't appear to be the destruction of Hamas (which means Israel will be doing this again someday) but rather a different arrangement of the deck chairs where Israel would be protected from rocket fire by promises and people who will "tell on them" if Hamas fires a rocket.

Seems all rather pointless as Hamas will never stop fighting Israel as long as it exists.

Posted by crosspatch 2009-01-13 20:36|| 2009-01-13 20:36|| Front Page Top

#4 Looks to me like Hamas is pressing on toward unconditional defeat. They keep firing rockets, which gives Israel cover for it's continuing offensive. Egypt gets more and more p'd off with Hamas.

And the endgame of the Egyptian border effectively sealed from weapons smuggling gets closer. When that happens it's game over for Hamas. No justifying their existence by 'resistance', and Fatah will sooner rather than later outgun them and roll them up from the bases that will be handed to Fatah along the Egyptian Gaza border.

Posted by phil_b 2009-01-13 21:05|| 2009-01-13 21:05|| Front Page Top

#5 Also note Hamas' key demand of 'opening the border crossings'. While the MSM obfuscate this point and imply its a reference to the Israeli crossings. It's not. The demand is for the Egyptian border crossings to be opened.

Hamas aint stupid. They know the Israeli crossings will be useless for getting in arms, the key to Hamas' survival in Gaza.

Egypt aint budging, which doesn't surprise me in the least, because Hamas is an exustential threat to the Egyptian regime. What I don't understand is why Turkey is getting its knickers in a twist over opening the border. Maybe its some perceived role as the defender of Islam in the old Ottoman Empire.

Posted by phil_b 2009-01-13 21:26|| 2009-01-13 21:26|| Front Page Top

#6 Hamas remains ~~defiant~~ stupid despite pounding

There, fixed that for ya.

Mike

Posted by Mike Kozlowski 2009-01-13 21:43|| 2009-01-13 21:43|| Front Page Top

#7 "Hamas is saying in terms of its spirit, it is not going to be destroyed." says Maha Azzam, an expert on Hamas and Political Islam at London's Chatham House.

Azzam sounds like a pro Hamas expert on Hamas.

Posted by mhw 2009-01-13 21:44|| 2009-01-13 21:44|| Front Page Top

#8 Khaled Mashaal, the Syria-based political leader of Hamas and the man who holds more sway than any of the Hamas leadership in Gaza, says that Hamas will only agree to a truce if all border crossings are open.

In enterprise of martial kind,
When there was any fighting,
He led his regiment from behind,
He found it less exciting.

But when away his regiment ran,
His place was at the fore-o,
That celebrated, cultivated, underated nobleman,
The Duke of Plaza-toro.

- "The Gondoliers"

Posted by W. S. Gilbert 2009-01-13 21:55|| 2009-01-13 21:55|| Front Page Top

#9 Until Hamas BEGS to surrender UNCONDITIONALLY, they need to keep getting pounded - hard. No compromises.

Posted by Scooter McGruder 2009-01-13 22:17|| 2009-01-13 22:17|| Front Page Top

#10 I am watching a Gaza webcam right now from Gaza city. Nothing to be heard but chickens crowing, dogs barking and the morning call to prayer. I heard a little automatic weapons fire about a half hour ago, but nothing at all recently. Just doesn't seem like much of a "pounding" going on there. The chickens crowing are the loudest thing heard.

Posted by crosspatch 2009-01-13 22:38|| 2009-01-13 22:38|| Front Page Top

#11 "Dumber'n a sack o' hammers..."

Posted by mojo">mojo 2009-01-13 23:01|| 2009-01-13 23:01|| Front Page Top

23:54 JosephMendiola
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