if it wasn't for the oil wealth in the arab states, which is obscene, the united states wouldn't need to maintain a military base in the region. it's not exactly that simple, granted, but israel is not going to hold the sway in washington that it does now, once the world moves off of oil.
what i think is that gaza needs to be dismantled and hamas (along with all other like-thinking groups) needs to be obliterated and the israelis are actually doing the world a favour in getting their hands dirty actually doing it.
we're supposed to be concerned about palestinian civilians. hamas only kills jews every once in a while, they spend most of their time oppressing and slaughtering arabs for not being muslim enough. further, there hasn't been an election in gaza in almost 20 years and the area that the supposed civilians are being sequestered into voted for what i believe was a democratic socialist candidate, rather than the fascist hamas. it is true that hamas seized power in the region, never controlled substantive popular support and has been viciously oppressive against it's own population.
but, that's just the point. twenty years is enough time to get out, and it's enough time to radicalize those that don't. this division between hamas and the population is not so clear cut. if you're still there 20 years later, there's a reason for it, and the fiasco around unrwa demonstrates the point: hamas is a major employer in economically hopeless gaza. i believe that something like 30% of the population is employed by hamas, and roughly half is unemployed altogether and reliant on state aid provided by hamas. i've even heard hamas referred to as a religious charity. that's not a minority of bad apples, it's 70% of the trees in the fucking orchard.
it's harsh, but it's real, and the world will be better off for it, in the end. i'm more concerned about what happens after they level the place, and what plans are being put in place to repopulate and rebuild.