As a symbol of our failure to grasp the matter forthrightly, we currently can be seen rebuilding (with US tax dollars!) the Muslim’s disgusting mosques after they’ve utilized them as weapons caches, recruiting offices for terrorists, and bastions of incitement and hatred. Are we out of our minds?

As long as those terror spewing hatred wallowing Islamic societies are allowed to remain Muslim, the nightmares which Islam unleashes on the world will perpetuate and thrive. The magical (and extremely costly) charms of civilization which we have bestowed on these slavish adherents to Islam will surely expire as soon as we leave the ball at midnight — or as soon as we stop pouring staggering aid dollars and precious blood into their maw to prop up their irredeemable society.

The less media attention that gets put onto Gaza, the better. Moreover, the media need to keep at least a pretense of balance rather than focusing on Gaza all the time. For every report from the Gaza Strip, there should be at least one report from Sderot, Ashkelon, or Ashdod. Let’s not assume that screaming Palestinians are the only people in the entire universe who just happen to suffer.

http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/015/975wlwfj.asp

While everything the author says may be true, I still think a ground assault is past the point of diminishing returns for Israel. Hope I’m wrong.

Longer term, replace Hamas with somebody dedicated to the 2-state solution. Somebody like the PA.

The central fulcrum here is the 2-state solution. Hamas is standing in the way and the world needs them eliminated so the 2-state solution can go forward.

Now the 2-state solution might be a poor idea (who will replace Abbas? What keeps Syria out of Palestine?) but that’s the goal.

Worth a read:
http://www.citizenwarrior.com/2007/10/message-to-peaceful-muslims.html

Having said this, I understand why the Israelis moved when they did.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/04/AR2009010401434.html?hpid=opinionsbox1

The declared end-game has been well-publicized:
* Stop rockets
* Prevent re-armament (read: stop the tunnel-smuggling)
* Prevent acts of terror (read: if Hamas starts planning suicide bombings, they get a visit)
* Monitoring by international force (presumably with covert Israeli participation, e.g. through cameras)

The point re: Hamas’ internal security isn’t an “end-game” so much as a means of managing the problem. I’m not at all sure it is in Israel’s interests to topple Hamas. Remember – a ruling group loses support if it doesn’t provide services. Before becoming the government, Hamas got “points” for anything it did in the way of social welfare; now, it loses points for every need it doesn’t take care of.

Leaving a weakened Hamas in power would make sense for Israel. And the weakening is only partly achievable by force. The rest of the work is socio-economic – choking off Hamas’ resources, crippling their ability to manage Gaza (bombing the government buildings and destroying the filing cabinets/databases with info on taxes, salaries, etc. – brilliant; the follow-through is with additional spanners in the gears), and tying the social power structures (i.e. the important tribes) to Fatah rather than Hamas.

As others have been said, a Surge-like solution is not possible here. So my guess is that Israel just wants to bag (or body-bag) as many Hamas leaders as they can, destroy as many rocket sites as they can, net as much intelligence as they can, and if possible, leave Hamas vulnerable to a Fatah counterstroke. Stabilization in this case may mean giving Abbas’ hard boys the chance to exact revenge, and maybe even finish off Hamas.