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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Nadine Carroll who wrote (37287)	3/31/2004 8:03:16 PM
From: Dayuhan	Respond to of 793972

So why did you say that Hamas didn't need a live spiritual leader, a dead one was just as good? Because his functions were not entirely spiritual. Balancing the loss of his actual functions with the gain of a martyr, I'd call it a net setback, but not a major one. So far, Rantisi has claimed the leadership, and then been forced to back down. So the only head Hamas has right now is Khaled Mashaal, who is in Damascus, which cannot help Hamas' chances of taking over Gaza from Fatah, let alone the West Bank. What often happens in these cases is that you get a leadership struggle, often characterized by would-be leaders competing to see who can commit the most egregious acts of violence. This may take time to start, since the competing would-be leaders have to consolidate their factions. Eventually either a dominant figure emerges, or the group splinters into several less visible but equally violent groups. Either way, the violence continues. Especially if one makes the claim not on evidence, but on the "principle" that killing terrorists never makes a difference. Killing terrorists can be a very useful part of a larger strategy. If it becomes the entire strategy, complete failure is the most likely consequence.