There's Good Guys And There's Bad Guys

The guys who set up their rocket launching sites in the middle of civilian housing areas, surrounded by noncombatant women and children, and then fire their rockets indiscriminately across their borders into civilian-occupied areas of their neighbors, are the bad guys. Don't forget that.

And don't forget that when peace proposals are put on the table, ones that have a reasonable chance of ending the violence while preserving both sides' sovereignty, that we should look askance at a party who urges rejection of the proposal.

In no way do I suggest that there is a connection between Hamas and Iran -- there is little evidence of that. Iran is using the situation for its own political purposes but the last thing the Iranians really want is a viable Palestinian state. They need a whipping boy, a scapegoat, a common enemy around which to rally all Muslims so as to sublimate the racial and sectarian differences that separate Iran from its neighbors. Israel is a perfect foil for that. If they didn't have Israel, they'd have to invent one.

Meanwhile, innocent people are dying because Hamas won't lay down its arms after proving that it can't be trusted with them. Quoth Julius Caesar of his enemies, upon the launching of the Roman Civil War: "They would have it thus." From Caesar's perspective, he didn't start the war; he was left with no other option. That is what Hamas has done to Israel -- it finds open conflict with Israel politically more advantageous than attempting to actually govern its people. That way, there is an external third party to blame for whatever problems exist in Gaza and the West Bank.

Hat tip to Stephen Green at Vodkapundit and the Weblog of Tomorrow.