Islamist Extremists Hit Israeli Soldiers with Iron Bars, West Surrenders?

Barry Rubin
The Rubin Report
03 June '10

“I have not yet begun to fight!” --Captain John Paul Jones 1779

“Don’t Give up the ship!” -- Captain James Lawrence, 1813

“Damn the torpedoes! Full steam ahead!” --Admiral David Farragut, 1862

“You may fire when ready, Gridley!” --Commodore George Dewey, 1898

“Oh no! Israel stopped a ship near Gaza, the militants attacked the troops, and nine were killed. Our policy is untenable and we better give in.” --President Barack Obama, 2010?

I hope the above turns out to be an exaggeration. Some minor changes--letting private groups send in goods over the border after Israeli inspection--would not damage the effort to isolate and defeat Hamas. But things may go far beyond such cosmetic alterations.

For some reason the Obama Administration may be deciding that its policy toward Hamas is no longer working and it’s time to begin to raise its arms in surrender, give up the ship, put on the brakes, and make room for Hamas. But it should be remembered that a policy is not wrong or untenable because some--even a lot of people--don't like it or because it doesn't work real fast. The question is whether the policy fits the resources available and goals that are vital ones.

And here, regarding the Gaza Strip issue, there are major strategic issues that should not be forgotten:

--Is the United States and others ready to accept a new Islamist state, equivalent to the Taliban regime of Afghanistan, in the heart of the Middle East?

--Are they willing to have an Iranian client state in such a strategic position, spreading revolutionary Islamism to Egypt and other countries?

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