The Hard Reality

HIM: Now, this isn't really a place of philosophical or historical discussion, but the recent news on the Palestinian front inspires a little banter on the topic of legitimate nation states.

There is a civil war raging on Israel's border right now. Different muslim activist factions are to blame. In fact, the infighting really frames the political atmosphere of all modern Islamic regimes. The delicate balance between support of extremist activities and totalitarian societal control can be tipped as soon as one group begins to shout louder than the current leadership. Whatever apparent solidarity the forces previously showed, has been broken by the fact that all the while they were shaking hands, they were silently maneuvering for each other's throats like predatory pack animals.

"This is a coup... against the Palestinian cause," Palestinian legislator Saeb Erakat told CNN yesterday.

The real question that the world is asking itself, as the EU retrieves $100M in allocated aid for the region, is what exactly is the "Palestinian Cause"? For years, Arafat bulldogged neighbors with the premise that it was nothing short of military overthrow of the nation of Israel. With all manner of side agendas occurring simultaneously, at least the international community recognized the reality of that engagement. At best, the figurehead Alpha of the Palestinians was afraid to chastise extreme factions for fear of extreme reprisals. At worst, and most likely, Arafat was channeling state support for all sorts of military activists abroad.

What's happening right now is a breakdown common to all activist leadership structures. The modern wave of brainwashed grunts passes basic training in some remote terrorist training facility. The leadership structure is well defined. "We are training this group of activists for 'X' purpose," leaders say, while thinking and discussing among themselves something different. "We are really using these thugs for 'Y' purpose." Telling jihadists that they have a divine purpose, while planning and organizing very terrestrial mechanations...

Once the cell leaders have trained and implemented a plan of attack, the individuals in that leadership hierarchy may move on to other things, leaving behind a wake of abandoned, saintly-meaning, but ill-tempered youngsters who will in turn become the next generation of leadership to an old cause. What we have at this stage becomes leadership that preaches "X" and thinks "X" without "Y" entering into the equasion. Any leader who steps forward at this stage discussing "Y" becomes "soft" or "ineffective". As a result, splinter groups of radicals within radicals emerge and the whole cycle repeats itself.

In Palestine today, the dismissed Prime Minister Ismail Haniya (which appears ironically like a dyslexic corruption of "Hayina" -- like "hyena"...) held on to his office, reminding us that a pseudo-democratic system that preaches hate and violence is most immediately at risk of hate and violence itself. Unfortunately, Palestinian moderates are surely trampled by the brutal environment of the rabid political dogfighting.

Who knows how this will all turn out...? What is for certain, though, is the facade of "legitimate" islamic militantism has been set back 50 years. Pretending to serve a common good, the violence and mahem only serve to waylay the sanctity of real Muslims, family, neighbors, friends, and allies. People around the world are reminded again, just how terrible these sand vipers really are.