More on the Hamas victory

I've already opined that the Hamas victory is a good thing, since it creates a clear enemy for Israel. Israel only needs to have the political will to defend against that enemy. Unsurprisingly, Jack Kelly great lucidity about the election. He too thinks it's a good thing, insofar as Palestine now as one face, rather than the duplicitous (and expensive) two that Arafat presented:

There's something to be said for clarity. What's changed in the Palestinian Authority is less the reality there than the ability of liberals in the West to keep ignoring it. Now the Palestinians will be represented by one face, rather than two. Hamas is an Islamic fundamentalist terror group, very like al Qaida. It's raison d'etre is the destruction of Israel, and Hamas is straightforward about it. The ruling Fatah party, which Hamas trounced, is also devoted to the destruction of Israel, but under longtime leader Yasir Arafat, was more clever about it. Mr. Arafat would say one thing in English to those in the West who desperately wanted to believe he was amenable to a "two state solution," and something quite different in Arabic to the home folks. Mr. Arafat's duplicity paid big dividends, especially for him. Israel at Oslo granted Fatah a statelet, and the West showered upon it billions of dollars in aid, much of which made its way into Mr. Arafat's bank accounts (he died a multi-billionaire), and those of his cronies.

Kelly also has something to say about the Left's immediate attempts to dress up Hamas' victory in Fatah clothing; that is, they're now claiming that Hamas really wants peace, something that is patently untrue, as Hamas' own pronouncements demonstrate:

Those, like Jimmy Carter, who are desperate to maintain their illusions stress the corruption angle to assert that somehow, some way the West can "work with" a PA government dominated by Hamas. For liberals, obtaining and maintaining political power is the be all and end all. They'll say anything, and do anything (that doesn't involve much risk to themselves) to get it and keep it. So they assume that leaders of Hamas, faced with the responsibilities of governing, will abandon their principles to keep power, as liberals would do.

If you want more on the Dorian Gray face the liberals reveal as they grapple with a Hamas government, you should also read this Dennis Prager article. Talking to Technorati: Hamas, Palestine, Israel