June 19, 2007: Another failed foreign policy back to bite us in the arse!

The situation in Gaza has been brewing for years, and has reached a boiling point that even the Israeli government can no longer deny. Israel pulled out of Gaza not because of some benevolent gesture, but because they could no longer protect the settlements there nor could they contain the millions of people bottled up in the most congested place on Earth. Israel pulled out because the Israeli people (not the radical settlers) wanted out.

In recent days, we hear how Hamas won control over Gaza and sent Abbas and the Palestinian Authority on the run. I've got news for you: the PA never had control over Gaza, and last week's fighting only made it official. Now the U.s. and Israel are backing Abbas in order to give him a leg up over Hamas. Brilliant. The question that should be asked by the media is why have you waited this long? For years Israel and the U.S. cried that they had "no parter in peace" in Arafat. Once Abbas took power, the talk was positive, but the West's game was the same: claim Abbas does not want peace, that all of Palestine must accept Israel (while never once asking Israel to accept all Palestinians), cutting off his funding to establish a real security force, and most importantly not giving him the incentives he needed in order to help lead his people towards a two-state solution.

The result, more Israeli settlements, more building of the wall that grabs Palestinian land — all in violation of the U.S. Road Map — and the complete shelving of peace talks. Meanwhile, Gaza has been cut off from the rest of the world, with little food or water, no access to jobs, no economy, no medical care, and because some individuals would periodically lob shells into Israel (killing no one), Israel would periodically bomb Gaza. The result, a Lord of the Flies scenario, where you fight for control of the dung-hill.

What the U.S. and Israel are now doing, by supporting Abbas, granting him aid to show his people he has something to offer and returning tax revenue that was held since Gaza took power, should have been done years ago. Not that I love Abbas, but the Palestinian people need to be helped. Now, the situation is so severe, that the Western powers have to completely reverse course in how they deal with the Palestinians. Like in Iraq, like in Afghanistan, the U.S. foreign policy has been proven inept, dangerous and just plain wrong.