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Hamas Is After an "Afghan" Victory

[Daily Star-Lebanon] Waleed Sadi - Al-Qaeda has been busy extending its clout and presence throughout the Middle East, including on the Palestinian scene. Striking the deathblow to the Soviet army in Afghanistan was a huge victory for Bin Laden and his supporters and not just in military terms. It gave al-Qaeda the strength and conviction that the same tactic could be applied to the U.S. and Israel. The increased self-confidence that Palestinians have in their ability to force Israel to withdraw from all the territories coincided with the rise of Islamic "power" in Afghanistan and its spread to other countries in the region. No doubt the Palestinians drew comfort from the ability of hitherto unknown militant Islamist factions to become a "power" that many countries, including the world's remaining superpower, now fear. This growing article of faith in the ability of small militant Islamist groups to wage wars against mighty nations and win, as indeed had happened in Afghanistan and is happening in Iraq, has instilled a conviction among Palestinians that they too can become a "force" and succeed in extracting from Israel major territorial concessions sooner rather than later. The writer is a former Jordanian ambassador to Turkey and to the UN. He is currently a columnist for the Jordan Times and Al-Rai.
2007-08-20 01:00:00
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