Hamas has won a stunning landslide victory in the Palestinian elections. Here is the Wiki description for Hamas:
Hamas, acronym of Harakat al-Muqawamah al-Islamiyyah (Arabic: حركة المقاومة الاسلامية, literally “Islamic Resistance Movement” and Arabic for ‘zeal’), is a Palestinian Islamist movement and is the democratically elected representive government of the Palestinian people. Hamas is closely related to the Muslim Brotherhood and its stated goal is to “remove Israel from the map” [1], and to establish an Islamic theocracy in the area that is currently Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza strip. In pursuit of this, Hamas affirms a right to engage in military struggle. [2]
Hamas is listed as a terrorist group by the European Union, Canada, the United States, and Israel, and its attacks targeting Israeli civilians and other human rights abuses have been condemned by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. The organization is particularly popular among Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, though it also has a following in the West Bank, and, to a lesser extent, in other Middle Eastern countries and throughout the Palestinian diaspora. The movement’s popularity stems from its provision of welfare and social services to the Palestinian poor and its paramilitary activities, which includes making generous payments to the families of suicide bombers, as well as from the perceived corruption of the Fatah party. Outside the Arab world, Hamas is primarily known for its suicide bombings against civilians in busy urban areas in Israel. In an attempt to change its image in the eyes of the West, the group is currently “paying a spin doctor $180,000 (£100,000) to persuade Europeans and Americans that it is not a group of religious fanatics who relish suicide bombings and hate Jews,” according to The Guardian. [[3]
Below the fold I’ll discuss this development.
George W. Bush has articulated a foreign policy that emphasizes the potential of representative government to take the steam out of anti-American terrorism. Bush explained his vision in last year’s State of the Union address:
In the long-term, the peace we seek will only be achieved by eliminating the conditions that feed radicalism and ideologies of murder. If whole regions of the world remain in despair and grow in hatred, they will be the recruiting grounds for terror, and that terror will stalk America and other free nations for decades. The only force powerful enough to stop the rise of tyranny and terror, and replace hatred with hope, is the force of human freedom. (Applause.) Our enemies know this, and that is why the terrorist Zarqawi recently declared war on what he called the “evil principle” of democracy. And we’ve declared our own intention: America will stand with the allies of freedom to support democratic movements in the Middle East and beyond, with the ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world. (Applause.)
The United States has no right, no desire, and no intention to impose our form of government on anyone else. That is one of the main differences between us and our enemies. They seek to impose and expand an empire of oppression, in which a tiny group of brutal, self-appointed rulers control every aspect of every life. Our aim is to build and preserve a community of free and independent nations, with governments that answer to their citizens, and reflect their own cultures. And because democracies respect their own people and their neighbors, the advance of freedom will lead to peace. (Applause.)
That advance has great momentum in our time — shown by women voting in Afghanistan, and Palestinians choosing a new direction, and the people of Ukraine asserting their democratic rights and electing a president. We are witnessing landmark events in the history of liberty. And in the coming years, we will add to that story. (Applause.)
The beginnings of reform and democracy in the Palestinian territories are now showing the power of freedom to break old patterns of violence and failure. Tomorrow morning, Secretary of State Rice departs on a trip that will take her to Israel and the West Bank for meetings with Prime Minister Sharon and President Abbas. She will discuss with them how we and our friends can help the Palestinian people end terror and build the institutions of a peaceful, independent, democratic state. To promote this democracy, I will ask Congress for $350 million to support Palestinian political, economic, and security reforms. The goal of two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace, is within reach — and America will help them achieve that goal. (Applause.)
Despite some of the empty rhetoric in Bush’s speech, I agree with a lot of what he said. I agree that part of the solution to anti-American terrorism is more representative government in certain Islamic countries. We should remember that the 9/11 hijackers included 15 Saudis, an Egyptian, two citizens of the United Arab Emirates, and a citizen of Lebanon. Many of the suicide bombers in Iraq are reported to be Saudis. Ramzi Yousef and Khalid Sheikh Mohmammed were Pakistanis. Bin Ladin is a Saudi, and Zawahiri is an Egyptian.
It’s critical to understand that all of these countries were allies of the United States during the Cold War. The United States has incredibly close relationships with the governments of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan. We not only supply those countries with arms, but we trained their internal security and intelligence agencies. Therefore, in the absence of real elections, the rulers cannot be removed from power without our consent. In these circumstances. it is natural that the internal opponents of those governments will consider America as their opponents as well. This would be true for both liberal minded people and for Islamists that want a less secular society.
This is the real germ of anti-American terrorism, and a lot of it would dissipate if the people had the power to elect their own leaders. Unfortunately, the people consider America to be their enemies. So, chances are that, if they ever occur, we will not be very happy with the election results in Pakistan, Egypt, or Saudi Arabia. And we not happy with the results of elections in Iraq or Palestine.
The success of Hamas is troubling for the people of Israel. I understand that. But, I think in the long run this is going to be a good thing. My hope is that Hamas’s politicians will behave a lot like politicians do in other countries. There will a few demagogues, but at the end of the day they will want to provide constituent services and win reelection.
The Israel/Palestine conflict is most difficult problem in the world. But the governments of Saudi Arabia and Pakistan are even more troubling from the perspective of American security. Any casual observer of the House of Saud can agree that they are the most corrupt government on the face of the earth. They are probably more hypocritical and decadent than any government in the history of the world. And yet, the world is so dependent on an uninterrupted supply of Saudi oil that no developed country wants to risk seeing the House of Saud swept from power.
The government of Pakistan is really the army. And the Pakistani army does not even control a good portion of the country. Armed with nuclear weapons and a stridently anti-American populace, any prospect of true democracy in Pakistan probably consitutes the greatest existential threat to America’s safety imaginable.
Part of what Bush doesn’t understand is that we can see democracy sweep the Islamic world from Casablanca to Singapore and it won’t do a thing to appease the Saudi, Egyptian, and Pakistani terrorists unless democracy sweeps through those countries as well. And if it does, we will still be at an elevated risk for some time to come because the true expression of those countries’ populations is extremely hostile to America and American interests.
