Pushing a Scorpion
Pushing for peace doesn’t always work. Sometimes you have to fight for it.
President Obama has dispatched his special Middle East envoy George Mitchell to once again attempt the impossible. Mitchell said he would “vigorously push for peace” insisting that Hamas stops doing what they have always done and also insisting that Israel stops trying to protect itself from Hamas doing it.
The latest failure of the cease fire was brought about by Hamas when they once again planted bombs that killed another Israeli soldier. In response Israel took the logical step of sending in their superior military to answer force with force by bombing the well established system of tunnels Hamas has developed to smuggle in weapons.
After recently decimated Hamas in Gaza with three weeks of attacks and inflicting approximately $2 billion in damages Israel was under enormous international pressure to end their military strikes. The U.N. insisted that Israel cease fire and theorized that Hamas had come to the realization that they could not defend themselves against the Israeli army. Israel relented but a week later Hamas decided that they’d had enough peace and concluded that there is no sense in smuggling in weaponry if you’re not going to kill somebody with it.
It unfortunately comes as no real surprise as it was only hours after the end of hostilities with the smoke still rising from the bombed out buildings in Gaza that Hamas fighters were first seen waving their green Islamic flags and declaring victory over Israel. While it is impossible to understand this level of warped reality in the Hamas mentality (or lack thereof) it is fairly easy to predict. Just consider the most ill-advised thing that they could do and you can pretty much bet the farm that Hamas will do it or is at least planning it.
It reminds me of a fable I heard years ago about the frog and the scorpion: A frog was sitting on the bank of a river preparing to swim to the other side when a scorpion approached and asked if he could hitch a ride on the frogs back. The frog said “Are you crazy? You’re a scorpion; you will sting me and kill me if I let you get on my back”. The scorpion replied “Be realistic! I am not going to do that! If I sting you we would both drown.” The frog realizing the scorpion had made a good point agreed to let him ride across the river. The frog had swum about half way across when he suddenly felt the scorpion’s stinger pierce deep into his back. “Why” said the frog as the toxic sting began to take effect. “Now you’re going to die too”. To which the scorpion replied “I can’t help it, it’s who I am”.
Mitchell fresh off his lobbying efforts to vigorously push for peace in favor of the tobacco industry is now trying to broker a deal with the scorpion named Hamas. Having been a Washington DC lobbyist working for Big Tobacco certainly prepared him to deal with some fairly undesirable characters but the relationship most of the Middle East states have with the radical factions of Islam is impossible to overcome.
Hamas is being supported by the same governments that support Bill Clinton’s charitable foundation. As Mitchell returns to Washington to discuss his meetings with our new Secretary of State Hillary Clinton he will simply be reciting the Clinton Foundation mailing list.
This initial foray of Mitchell’s will offer America the first glimpse of the new mindset in the oval office toward Israel. The Bush administration developed the “road map” for peace which Israel abided by and Hamas did not. While George W publicly called for restraint on the part of Israel his administration was unwavering in its support. Obama promised that same unwavering support during the campaign, as did Clinton. We will now see if this support is also part of the change he promised.
Hamas will never willingly live in peace with Israel.
They can’t help it.
It’s who they are.
