19 Comments

Wow you mean a unilateral withdraw actually made the situation worse? I guess you just agree all those people chanting for Israel to “end the occupation” must be intellectually lightweight.

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"But the lunatics are sometimes right."

Yes, they are.

Nicely put, Peter.

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Peter Beinart is like a clock that always tells you the wrong time.

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Every need of the people inhabiting America would have been largely met if the public hadn't been duped about 9/11 and the reasons to invade Afghanistan and Iraq.

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Karim Sadjadpour has an Op. Ed in yesterday's NY Times that speaks directly to Peter Beinart's piece here. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/12/opinion/iran-america-nuclear-policy.html?searchResultPosition=1

I recommend it to all of you.

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I like the reworded version in the article more than the basic version in the title. The Foreign Policy Establishment (or "the Blob" if you prefer) being occasionally (or frequently) wrong does not make those outside the mainstream right. We should also remind ourselves: those outside the mainstream make up a majority of voices in the world. "Not being the US FP Mainstream" is not enough. Voices like Peter's is far more credible than, say, Tulsi Gabbard.

Just my 2 cents, good article.

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Weird . Parallel universes . Trump could have written this and his fans would have cheered . No foreign entanglements .

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I'm laughing at the utter cluelessness of concluding that nationalism is why the Taliban "won," and yet you see the need to call in another white guy to "explain" why Hamas controls Gaza and will continue to do so.

Peter, really? Palestinian nationalism is as fervent as ever, and Hamas harnesses it just as the Taliban do. Hamas has been the only organization that has literally fought for Palestinian freedom. When people are held under siege for decades, all bets are off, especially when the Palestinian Authority is mendacious and corrupt. Islamic Jihad's raison d'etre is the same as Hamas, which is the reason it has survived since Terry Anderson was kidnapped by them all those years ago. They fight according to principles the west and Israel disregard.

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Pro Hamas sentiments on Beinarts blog? Wish I could say I was surprised.

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Who is pro-Hamas?

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You.

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Who is a belligerent and aggressive troll? You. And lacking in intellect, by the way. Don't bother to respond. I'm bored with you.

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Aug 15, 2022·edited Aug 15, 2022

Typical Beinart fan.

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"Hamas controls Gaza."

Like the PA in the West Bank, controlled by Israel, Hamas in Gaza, is also controlled by Israel. When either entity steps out of line, they are made to pay the price.

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Exactly. It's why nothing ever changes politically. And the talking heads love to blame everyone except Israel. In the West Bank there are uprisings just short of intifada. In Gaza every 2 years or so Israel "mows the lawn."

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I am often amazed by what i see here. Hamas fighting for Palestinian freedom? Are you kidding? As you write "Israel mows the lawn every 2 years" while I think that is a mischaracterization, wouldn't it be a lot easier for Hamas to simply declare a Palestinian state in Gaza. The world would line up to give them aid. They would claim the offshore rights to gas fields and become an overnight Singapore success form where they could negotiate powerfully.

But as John Belushi used to say "But n-o-o-o" they would rather lob a few rockets try to kill some Jews. And complain about the suffering of the people in Gaza, who no doubt would be pleased with their and Islamic Jihad's departure.

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And after all who wants to live in a fascist theocracy and Hamas and Islamic Jihad are exactly that.

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Thanks. We needed that history insight.

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