US arming Fatah. Whats the worse that could happen?

And to think. There are people out there that think the Republicans are best qualified to fight the War on Terror.

Apparently, the US is sending money and arms to Fatah. Don't know who Fatah is? And you're a Republican? I rest my case.


We all hate Hamas. They refuse to recognize Israel's right to exist and have launched literally hundreds of rockets at Israeli towns in the last few weeks. They are Islamic extremists in every sense of the word. They are the Palestinian branch of the Egyptian based Muslim Brotherhood. They are dedicated to nothing less than the complete and utter destruction of Israel. However, notice that I didn't mention suicide bombings. Hamas definitely loves a good suicide bombing now and again, but they are hardly the only Palestinian faction to engage in that kind of action.

Fatah, which was founded by among others, Yasser Arafat. Fatah has a history of terrorist attacks and links to other terrorist organizations such as Black September. The current militant wing of Fatah, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade is still a declared enemy of Israel. The only difference is that they are also an enemy of Hamas.

Some notable suicide bombings committed by the group were:

• March 2, 2002: Beit Yisrael, Jerusalem - 11 killed.
• January 5, 2003: Southern Tel Aviv central bus station - 22 killed.
• January 29, 2004: Rehavia, Jerusalem, bus line 19 - 11 killed.
• March 14, 2004: Port of Ashdod - 10 killed (together with Hamas).

On October 16, 2005, the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades claimed responsibility for a shooting attack at the Gush Etzion Junction, killing three Israelis and wounding three others.

but, back to the Fatah-Hamas thing. The US hates Hamas. They have connections with Islamic terror organizations across the globe and there are persistent rumors that they are being armed and trained by Iran and Syria. Not to mention they are vehemently anti-American. So, in the spirit of NSC-68, the US is doing what it does best. Arming the enemies of our enemies. Anyone with a working knowledge of Cold War history should shudder at this idea.

We did this in Afghanistan. And after having read a few books on US involvement in the Soviet-Afghan war, I'm convinced it was the right move because our primary enemy was the Soviet Union. BUT, that isn't to say these decisions don't come back to haunt us. The CIA calls this "blowback." We (along with the Saudis) funded the most fanatical of the Afghan resistance groups because as the CIA stated "Fanatics fight better." The Soviets ended up losing and it was sweet sweet revenge considering they armed our enemies in Vietnam. However, after the Soviet withdrawal the fanatical Afghan groups seized control of Afghanistan and the moderate Afghan groups were marginalized. Today, we know the fanatics as a different name, the Taliban.

Want another example. How about the fact that we armed Saddam Hussein and provided Iraq with satellite photos of Iranian military positions during the Iraq-Iran war. Probably not our best move either. Don't get me wrong, Iran is America's enemy in every sense of the word, but that doesn't mean Iraq wasn't either.


Over the last year Hamas has seized complete control of the Gaza Strip. Fatah still controls the West Bank. In effect the two sections of the Palestinian territories are controlled by two different parties. Of course, Bush in all his wisdom has deduced that if the US sends arms to Fatah than they can do battle with Hamas. Interesting idea, but it disregards the fact that there is collusion between Fatah and Hamas members. Which has already become clear due to the fact that Hamas has come into possession of the weapons meant for Fatah. Whoops!

Hamas is definitely more dangerous than Fatah, but what makes us think that Fatah is itself not an enemy. Israel is America's closest ally on the planet, and Fatah is still an enemy of Israel. Remember the enemy of our enemy is our friend idea that so well characterized the alliance between the US and USSR during WWII? We aren't the only country that uses that line of reasoning. The Middle East has such an incredibly dynamic geo-political climate that we have no idea what is in store for us down the road. Even if Hamas were to lose power to Fatah, there is still the rising power of Iran and Syria to deal with. Not to mention the increasingly overt actions of Hezbollah. Only an idiot would think that Fatah would be our partners in peace once Hamas is gone. Israel's enemies are gaining power like never before, and they'll be damned if they let Fatah cozy up to Israel and America now. If presented with the opportunity to destroy Israel don't think for a second that Fatah wouldn't jump at it. Their entire history says they would. And when we are drug into another conflict in the Middle East, don't be surprised when our enemies are shooting at us with our own weapons.