Quote:

Obama would have been free to follow his dovish instincts and throw Israel to the Arab and Iranian wolves.



Actually, it's not that simple. Egypt hates Hamas as much as Israel. Hamas is also scary to Jordan and the Saudis.

Hamas is the bastard child of the Muslim Brotherhood, which is BANNED in Egypt. Sure, Israel has sealed the border with Gaza since Hamas has been in charge. But, so has Egypt.

A Palestinian lady-friend I know who has family on the West Bank says that in the middle of ALL this Fatah & Hamas are STILL at each others throat.

While Fatah could never openly support Israel, especially with all the civilians that are hurt, this certainly plays into their interests and may help explain why it's relatively quiet on the West Bank while all this is going on.

So, while I don't doubt that Obama is batting his eyes at the Palestinians and the Arabs in general, I don't think that Hamas is among his suitors to be. Besides ... it would only tick off Egypt.
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Amo i Gemelli!! wink