Democracy in Action

27 January 2006



Hamas Wins Palestinian Election

In the first election held among the Palestinian people for 10 years, and the first that offered an alternative to the late Yassir Arafat’s Fatah Party, the Palestinians have given the reins of power to Hamas. Hamas refuses to recognize Israel, has provided hospitals, schools and suicide bombers, and has no record of holding power. It was a democratic choice (about 80% of the registered voters turned up at the polls) that forsakes any effort at peace and reconciliation. As this journal has always said, no one in the Middle East actually wants peace; they all want victory.

Reaction from the White House was swift, since the Busheviks are honorary Israelis and hold Hamas to be a terrorist body with no redeeming value. The president said right after the result became obvious, “I’ve made it very clear that the United States does not support political parties that want to destroy our ally Israel, and that people must renounce that part of their platform.” In other words, America is all for democracy, but it must be a democracy that agrees with American policy. Unfortunately, no one told the voters in Ramallah, Gaza or East Jerusalem.

Here is the big problem with the neo-conservative project. The belief that America has a mission to bring democracy to the world because democracies don’t fight one another is overly bold. Democracy, as a modern idea, is roughly 200 years old and is largely restricted to cultures of European origin. One might argue that that is insufficient time to prove the peaceful nature of democracy. One could also argue that the American Civil War was a fine example of two democracies (white male suffrage at least) murdering hundreds of thousands.

To say that the election was about peace with Israel is nonsense, however. Corruption within the PLO and the Palestinian Authority [PA] that succeeded it is rampant. There is little faith in the judiciary or the police in PA territory. The voters may not have voted for Hamas so much as against Fatah. All politics is local, even in Jericho. Mustafa Barghouti spokesman for the Palestinian National Initiative, told CNN, “Mostly, they were voting for opposition and voting against Fatah -- against corruption, against nepotism, against the failure of the peace process, and against the lack of leadership.” It was a case of “Throw the rascals out,” in Arabic.

Now, a hardline, pro-suicide bomber government will be formed in occupied Palestine. Acting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said, “I will not negotiate with a government that does not meet its most basic obligations -- to fight terrorism.” So, the conflict continues, and this time, both the democracies of Israel and Palestine want it. The people have spoken. One might point out, though, that in any democracy, the people are largely ignorant, selfish, greedy and mean-spirited. Sir Winston Churchill’s comment on democracy has never proved more apt.

© Copyright 2006 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent.
Produced using Fedora Linux.


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