For Palestinians--Charity and Terrorism Begins At Home

Strategy Page updates us on the terrorism scene.

First the good news:

In the two countries that Islamic terrorism was born in, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, the terrorists are taking a beating. This is good news that doesn't get much attention, but it says much about the future of Islamic terrorism. In Egypt, the majority of the population continues to be turned off by the seemingly random violence of Islamic terrorists.

...The main source of Islamic terrorism, Saudi Arabia, has turned on Islamic terrorism with a vengeance.

...As with Egypt, once Saudis got a taste of Islamic violence, they changed their minds about supporting it.

...This kind of experience turned Iraqis and Jordanians, previously major supporters of Islamic terrorism, into al Qaeda haters.

But then, on the other hand:

The radical groups continue to survive, partly because of the fact that Palestinian Islamic terrorist groups thrive right next door in Gaza. The Palestinian terrorists are the darlings of the Moslem world because, so far, the Palestinians have concentrated on killing non-Moslems (namely Israelis and Arab Christians).

Apparently after being less than popular in the Arab world, the Palestinians have finally found their way to the Moslem heart. The secret is killing the right kind of people--though Hamas will need to learn to stop blowing up their own people.

But take a look at Elder of Ziyon, who quotes a poll by The Arab American Institute that finds:

1. The most important political issues facing the Arab world are largely the same in 2005 as they were in 2004: expanding employment, improving health care, and education ranking first, second, and fourth. In third place is an issue we did not include in our 2004 poll: ending corruption and nepotism. It is noteworthy that “resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict” has dropped from second place in 2004 to seventh place in this year’s survey. (take a look at his post for other results of interest)

And terrorism combined with charity works even better:

Islamic terrorists are aware of this image problem, and there is a, at times, public debate among the leadership over the need to avoid attacks that kill Moslems, especially women and children. Another tactic that works, is good works. Charity projects are good for the image of Islamic terrorists. This has worked in the Palestinian territories (Hamas), Lebanon (Hizbollah), and Pakistan (many groups). However, the "charity" tactic also limits your choice of targets. For the moment, Palestine, Lebanon and Pakistan remain the main training grounds, and support bases for Islamic terrorism. Getting at these bases is difficult, because of the protective "good will" the Islamic terrorists have created.

Imagine that--'Palestine' is one of the main training grounds, and support bases for Islamic terrorism.

Is it too much to hope that the White House might be just a little more cognizant of that fact and perhaps take a little less hands-off approach towards Palestinian terrorism? At least then the idea of creating a Palestinian democracy might actually be imagineable.

Technorati Tag: Palestinians and Terrorism.