There is a silver lining

Recently there have been elections in Palestine. Sure they may not have been the icon of fairness that we would like, but they were good enough to facilitate a semi-peaceful change of power from one set of individuals to another. Of course the change was to a group of individuals who openly prescribe violence against civilians as the primary method of communication and diplomacy. This is where my topic is rooted. Yes Hamas is a terrorist organization. Yes they were just voted in to power by the people of Palestine. Yes this is a slap in the face of civilized democratic societies around the world. However, I must depart from the common feeling that this is an apalling situation that has some sort of horrible connotation enough to turn your stomach, and make you cry out in despair.

The newfound "legitamacy" of this so called political party of Hamas seems to be causing woes beyond reason for a lot of the media, and most people that are interviewed about this subject. I subscribe to a different theory. This is the best thing that could have ever happened to the situation in Palestine. There are a few key facts that are now in place that give Isreal and anyone else that deals with Palestine more power than they ever had before.

• The government of Palestine is composed of individuals that are known terrorists. They were known before they were elected, and this points to the fact that the people of Palestine condone and support terrorism. At least ethically, they can now be held responsible for attacks.
• Governments can be targeted by Cruise Missiles
• The government of Palestine will be forced to adopt a no-terrorism policy or face the same fate as Afghanistan and Iraq. This will hopefully pre-empt any need for actual war.
• The popular support for Hamas will allow them to control the people of Palestine in a way that no amount of force can accomplish. Well, I suppose that's wrong since fascist governments have accomplished something of a similar level of control through force. Since the USA does not implement or condone fascism that is not a consideration here.

So while this may be a bitter pill, this actually may be the best thing that could have happened to the peace process.