THAT'LL SERVE HAMAS RIGHT: There are no end to the different opinions on Hamas' takeover of Gaza. Mark Kriorian of The National Review Online, thinks this is good news:

I've got to say that I don't share the concern over Hamas' takeover of Gaza. First, it was a foregone conclusion once Israel scraped Gaza off its boots; I'm only suprised it took so long. The consequence is, as Martin Indyk put it today:

Whatever transpires, Gaza has become Hamas's problem. It's a safe bet that the real attitude of Abbas and Fatah is: Let Hamas try to rule Gaza, and good luck.

As I wrote several years ago, worse is better — the Islamist nuts need to be allowed to take power because the only way that Islamic society will ever evolve in a constructive, pro-modern direction is to allow the only remaining alternative, theocracy, to prove its complete inability to cope with reality. Iran is well on the way to that end, with the Islamic faith itself becoming increasingly discredited there. It's a risky strategy, but it actually has a chance of working, unlike the nation-building mirage we've been chasing for several years now.

Even if Krikorian is right, who knows how much destruction and misery will be created along the way for the entire region--and beyond.

Technorati Tag: Israel and Gaza and Palestinian Civil War.