In case the 25/8 (because Common Core math) news cycle hasn’t talked about it enough, there’s a bit of a war going on in the Middle East between Israel and Hamas. Seems some members of Hamas decided to attack an Israeli music festival on the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War. This attack left several dead, and others held hostage.
Since then, Israel has been fighting back, which has garnered a schizophrenic response from the Left. Oh, the usual suspects on both sides of the conflict have made statements or in some cases like Rep. Rashida Tlaib waited a while before issuing an incredibly tone-deaf response. But the Left is of two minds on the subject, and both of them are more critical of Israel than of Hamas.
Since Hamas is the elephant in the war room right now, I figured it’s time we give equal attention to them.
Hamas
What the Left thinks it means – Palestinians fighting to regain the country they lost to Israel
What it really means – a terrorist cell given international legitimacy by fucking idiots
Hamas started out as the political side of your friends and mine, the Muslim Brotherhood, in Gaza. You know, where the strip is. And where there is an ongoing land struggle between Israel and the Palestinians. Think the Hatfields and McCoys but with a greater possibility for nuclear fallout. Palestinians have had settlements on the Gaza Strip for years, and Hamas has made it a point to attack Israel through various means, which meant Israel responded with force and, in doing so, made Leftists throw their intellectual heft being the Palestinians.
Granted, it’s not much, but it’s something.
Of course, the Palestinians love us for…oh, wait, they hate us because we insist on helping our ally in the region, Israel, defend itself against outside forces wanting to destroy it. You know like…Hamas. And that hate isn’t exclusive. No, Hamas is totally inclusive in wanting as many Americans dead as possible, too, up to and including America’s destruction. With friends like these, who needs enemas?
Well, I can tell you one person who needs one to get his head out of his ass, and that’s Puddin’ Head Joe. Remember this is the guy President Barack Obama tapped as his Administration’s foreign policy guru because…we’re not sure yet, but I’m sure it had something to do with being on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee since God took a day off. The previous record holder, of course, was Strom Thurmond, who beat Puddin’ Head Joe by six days.
And thanks to Puddin’ Head Joe, Hamas has a new sugar daddy: Iran. See, back in the 70s, America froze Iranian assets in response to Iran taking American hostages, and that freeze was in place until…Obama and Puddin’ Head Joe came on the scene. After making a foreign policy blunder that even Ray Charles could see (because, you know, he’s dead and all), we turned $6 billion over to the Iranians…who then said they would do what they wanted with the money, which was to give it to Hamas to attack Israel, only to pull it back shortly after offering it. Fucking brilliant!
Now, when you consider Hamas is fond of using primitive weapons against Israel so they can appear to be the victims (with the help of Leftists in the media, but I repeat myself), that $6 billion might last Iran and Hamas a while. When you are winning the PR war, you don’t need tanks and bombs. You just need to convince as many people as possible that the other side is bad and you’re just fighting for all the right reasons.
Hmmm…where have I heard that before, and not that long ago as it turns out? And to the tune several billion dollars to boot! I’m sure our new international bestie Volodymyr Zelenskyy could tell us in between bouts of counting our…I mean his money.
Of course, Hamas does provide a bit of a problem for Leftists trying to paint them as innocent victims. Namely, that they’re terrorists who treat their own people as badly as they want to treat Israelis. Hamas is notorious for using civilians as human shields and buildings where people are to drive up the body count for their PR war. And the Leftists eat it up like it was a responsibly sourced free range veggie and tofu hot dog.
Which poses another problem for Leftists: how do they walk the fine line between being anti-Israel and still shilling for Jewish donor dollars. Some like the members of The Squad try to play both sides with vague statements that downplay the seriousness of what’s going on while showing support for those poor Palestinians. Others don’t even pretend to hide their contempt for Israel, which puts them in direct conflict with Leftists who still hold onto the notion Israel should exist (if only to keep getting Jewish donations).
Regardless, Hamas is a real problem for us, albeit one a few well-placed rocket attacks could remedy…provided we get the courage to do it. After the War on Terror, many Americans lost their taste for fighting terrorism or even calling it out when it’s blatantly obvious. This is because the Left has done a masterful job in controlling the narrative and removing the stigma from being a foreign terrorist by calling anyone who sees the screamingly obvious racist.
Except when it comes to domestic terrorists. But that’s a bullshit narrative for another time.
Which brings us to another bullshit narrative, that being how cold-blooded Israel has been with the Gaza settlements. Not that Leftists would give us the whole story, but Israel gave the settlers a 24 hour window before they started a counter-offensive to allow time for Palestinians to flee to safety. Those bastards!
Seriously, this should tell you a lot about how Israel treats Palestinians who aren’t trying to kill them. These Palestinians have positions in the Israeli Parliament, enjoy economic and personal freedoms, and generally have a better life than they would under Hamas. And that’s one of the real tragedies in this war. The fact so many Palestinians are being used as pawns in a war between Hamas and Israel on both sides of the conflict doesn’t exactly make humanity look that good. Even so, a Palestinian has a better chance at a better life within Israel than an Israeli or even a non-Hamas Palestinian has. Israel has a ways to go, but they’re already further down the road than Hamas.
And let’s not make the same mistake Leftists make and lump Palestinians and Hamas together. Not every Palestinian is connected to Hamas, nor should we think that way. Unfortunately in this case, most of the people living in the Gaza Strip support Hamas in this conflict. Even so, just like when the Left tries to justify illegal immigration by painting them all as asylum seekers or women and children, they do that as a means to appeal to our emotions.
Because the facts make Leftists look like assholes on a much grander scale.
In the meantime, Hamas is still out there, but they’re finding out after fucking around with Israel. Until one side is wiped out or the two sides can forge a more positive outcome together, we’ll be seeing more of this Mass Warfare Tango for years to come.
Let’s just say I’m more hopeful the Sweet Meteor of Death hits us in 2024 than I am the Hamas-Israel fight ending anytime soon.