UK and Hamas: Political Wing? It's the Bloody Beak!
By Barry Rubin
Naturally, I was censorious when the UK government said it was going to meet with the political wing of Hizballah. But they've done even worse now with Hamas. All the main contacts with that organization so far are with Khalid Mashal who is:
1. The closest thing the organization--"political" and "military" wings--have to an overall leader. It's like meeting with Usama bin Ladin on the pretext of engaging with the al-Qaida "political wing."
2. He is the most hard-line leader of the group. This is not to say that the others are great moderates but if you are going to pretend to be encouraging the less genocidal (and the difference is minimal) why empower the worst of them? One more proof that the engagement racket is precisely that.
And what's the effect? It convinces Hamas (or Hizballah, or Iran, or Syria, or the Muslim Brotherhood, for that matter) that they can go on doing precisely what they've been doing and receive Western concessions and even surrender. It is the opposite of a policy that will bring moderation. It's a strategy that will ensure there won't be any.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
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No terrorist has ever been transformed by talking to them. Israel found this out the hard way by empowering Arafat and the PLO with recognition, land, money and weapons. The result was Israel was even further away from peace. Such a strategy will not have any more impact on Hezbollah and Hamas than it did on the PLO. To talk to the radicals in these organizations is to deal with them as one would like to deal with them rather than to deal with them as who they really are.
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