Sunday, January 11, 2009
Guidelines for Rushing the Field/Court
Tonight I was watching the terrific college basketball game between #3 North Carolina and #4 Wake Forest. While it was a very close, Wake maintained a slight edge all night, led by the strong play of guard Jeff Teague who dropped 34, which led to a 92-89 triumph. Beating North Carolina is a great achievement even though the Heels lost their perfect season to BC last Sunday night. However, this victory does not allow Wake Forest to rush their own court for three key reasons.
1. Wake Forest is the #4 team in the country. Rushing the court is reserved for teams who are pulling off large-scale, unexpected upsets at home. When you are #4 in the nation, you should not be an underdog by more than two/three points at home even if you are playing a higher ranked team. A game where the line is that close is an instant no-no for rushing the court.
2. Wake Forest is still undefeated. Usually when a team rushes the court, they have had a somewhat difficult season (or past in general) and their grand upset is the key turning point for the program (acceptable situation would be Michigan beating Duke). Wake has been having one of their best seasons in the program's history, and they have not experienced any suffering that is a needed pre-condition for rushing the court.
3. Tonight was their first game in the brutal ACC. Wake still has 15 more games left in the conference after tonight's opener. Having taken the thunder from UNC, Wake now has a huge target on their back. Rushing the floor just gave even more reasons for opponents to get fired up to play them. If you do not believe Wake is going to have more difficult games next week at Conte Forum vs BC and at Littlejohn Colliseum vs Clemson, you do not understand the ACC. Even though Wake is a good team, I'll be very surprised if they are still undefeated at this point next week.
Below are my guidelines for rushing the court at a basketball game. These same rules apply for college football.
a. If you are not ranked, and you defeat a Top-10 team.
b. If you are ranked 21-25, and you defeat a Top-5 team.
c. If you are ranked 11-20, and you defeat #1.
d. You beat a bitter, higher-ranked arch rival that you have not defeated in a while (I know its vague, but a while depends on the situation)
e. You beat a higher-ranked team at the buzzer.
f. You win the conference championship in college football or if the college basketball conference hosts its conference tournament and the home teams win a bid to the Big Dance.
If you meet one or more of the six criteria listed above, go ahead and rush the playing surface. Personally, I rushed the field at the Nip when 5-5 (6-5) UC beat an undefeated #7 Rutgers 30-11 in November 2006. That game signaled the key turning point in the rise of Cincinnati football, which has now gotten to (and sadly lost) a BCS game. It was a very fun experience, but its one that we need to keep special. By limiting rushing the field to these six occasions, it will remain something special. However, we need to stop teams like Wake Forest from ruining this tradition.
Friday, January 9, 2009
Christian Values?
One of the biggest personal issues for me concerns the intersection of faith (mainly Christianity) and society. For me, sports not politics has always been the first realm that comes to mind when I consider this issue. This issue hits closest to home for me with high school basketball in the Miami Valley Conference, which has 3 religious schools among its 10 basketball-playing schools: Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy (CHCA), Cincinnati Christian School (CCS), and Summit Country Day School (SCD).
Tonight, I went out to a game at Cincinnati Christian. First of all, the school is very loose in calling itself Cincinnati Christian considering that you would have to be speeding to reach downtown in under 40 minutes from the school. Its only about 10 minutes from Hamilton, but there is already a Hamilton Christian, so I guess it would rather be Cincinnati Christian than Butler County Christian. Anyways, when one walks into the CCS gym, one may be altered to seeing slogans on both of the scoreboards. On the south scoreboard, the message read to the effect of play in the name of the spirit. In that case, there is no direct reference to God or Jesus, and playing a sport with a fervor is not something I have problem with.
However, the quote on the north scoreboard surprised me a bit. It reads, "Expect a miracle." I could not think of a worse slogan for a gym that is supposed to inspire a team. So are you suggesting that since God and Jesus are on your side that you will win a game against long odds? You should not need a miracle to win a sporting event (ok, maybe when they played North College Hill w/ OJ Mayo and Bill Walker, they did), but you should focus on the game itself. The irony is added by a banner that hangs below the scoreboard, which quotes the later part of Proverbs 14:23 "mere talk only leads to poverty." Right below the ultimate call to inaction, you see a direct call to action in something is more than words and prayer. Here lies one of the many paradoxes of Christianity in my opinion. I admit to understanding faiths that are not mine own imperfectly, so if anyone can explain this paradox, please do!!!
As the crowd rises for the playing for the national anthem (by their decent pep band, at least they have one), the minister leads the gym in prayer. I had no problem with the first 9-10 lines of the prayer which focused on having the Lord protect the players, coaches, and all of the people who work behind the scenes to make this sporting event possible. Even if one does not believe in any faith, there was nothing offensive or alienating in the prayer. In the last line, he slips in "and we thank the Lord for giving birth to our savior, Jesus Christ." I understand this statement is a basic tenet of christian faith, but is it really necessary at a basketball game between a secular school and a christian one? Well at least no one got hurt in the Stingers 63-52 triumph over the Cougars extending the Stingers road winning streak to 15 games (since 1.20.07). The Stingers face a huge test tomorrow night at D-1 Woodward, which should be an interesting change of pace from a rich, religious school to a black, ghetto school where we may need a cop escort off the court.
Getting back to my main topic, CCS is the middle of the three religious schools in the MVC. By far the worst is CHCA, which is sadly located about 3 minutes from my house. This school has a different Biblical quote written on its wall in gigantic font in John 3:16. That quote is by far the most prolific connection between the Bible and sports. From Florida Gators quaterback Tim Tebow's face to signs in every ballpark to the bottom of a paper cup from In-N-Out Burger (source: ), the verse has become part of mainstream American culture. While one can see this verse as empowering, does one really think that God is going to guarantee them victory? Many people, including myself at times, play to God for something to go right in a game, but do people really believe it does anything? Its like yelling at your TV at home. It makes you feel better and more connected to the event, and it may help your peace of mind, but does it affect the outcome of the game? If yes, then show me multiple examples...
CHCA just goes downhill from the plastering of John 3:16 and the accompanying eagle (their mascot) mural on the wall. Their student section is known for being among the nastiest and most obnoxious in the city. Some of their stunts have included chanting "Jew-Boy" every time former Stinger and personal friend Drew Kohn took a free throw (By the end, none of our students minded, because we were beating them so badly in recent years), and chanting "We got Jesus" in response to anything where they had been outwitted (which was almost everything considering the college lists between 7 Hills and CHCA). CHCA has also been the poster child for poor sport behavior from their girls basketball coach going on a curse-ridden tirade after a defeat two years ago (leading to an ejection) to mens' and womens' tennis coach Lynn McNally-Nabors not showing up for a certain match that she knew her team was going to lose. I could even more personal and provide more examples (include fake soccer injuries and the cockiest baseball team in Ohio), but one can understand my overall point that while CHCA preaches a Christian message of equity and fairness, their actions on the playing field are very far from these goals.
I have no problem with faith enforcing the positive aspects of the morals and values of a society. However, these schools tend to only show the worst sides of their respective religions in venues where religion is not necessary. There are many positive aspects of every religion, but these groups do not play up these universal values, but instead do not practice what they preach and in the meanwhile focus on the most polarizing aspects of the religion. Keep those thoughts in the church and let's play basketball!
Tonight, I went out to a game at Cincinnati Christian. First of all, the school is very loose in calling itself Cincinnati Christian considering that you would have to be speeding to reach downtown in under 40 minutes from the school. Its only about 10 minutes from Hamilton, but there is already a Hamilton Christian, so I guess it would rather be Cincinnati Christian than Butler County Christian. Anyways, when one walks into the CCS gym, one may be altered to seeing slogans on both of the scoreboards. On the south scoreboard, the message read to the effect of play in the name of the spirit. In that case, there is no direct reference to God or Jesus, and playing a sport with a fervor is not something I have problem with.
However, the quote on the north scoreboard surprised me a bit. It reads, "Expect a miracle." I could not think of a worse slogan for a gym that is supposed to inspire a team. So are you suggesting that since God and Jesus are on your side that you will win a game against long odds? You should not need a miracle to win a sporting event (ok, maybe when they played North College Hill w/ OJ Mayo and Bill Walker, they did), but you should focus on the game itself. The irony is added by a banner that hangs below the scoreboard, which quotes the later part of Proverbs 14:23 "mere talk only leads to poverty." Right below the ultimate call to inaction, you see a direct call to action in something is more than words and prayer. Here lies one of the many paradoxes of Christianity in my opinion. I admit to understanding faiths that are not mine own imperfectly, so if anyone can explain this paradox, please do!!!
As the crowd rises for the playing for the national anthem (by their decent pep band, at least they have one), the minister leads the gym in prayer. I had no problem with the first 9-10 lines of the prayer which focused on having the Lord protect the players, coaches, and all of the people who work behind the scenes to make this sporting event possible. Even if one does not believe in any faith, there was nothing offensive or alienating in the prayer. In the last line, he slips in "and we thank the Lord for giving birth to our savior, Jesus Christ." I understand this statement is a basic tenet of christian faith, but is it really necessary at a basketball game between a secular school and a christian one? Well at least no one got hurt in the Stingers 63-52 triumph over the Cougars extending the Stingers road winning streak to 15 games (since 1.20.07). The Stingers face a huge test tomorrow night at D-1 Woodward, which should be an interesting change of pace from a rich, religious school to a black, ghetto school where we may need a cop escort off the court.
Getting back to my main topic, CCS is the middle of the three religious schools in the MVC. By far the worst is CHCA, which is sadly located about 3 minutes from my house. This school has a different Biblical quote written on its wall in gigantic font in John 3:16. That quote is by far the most prolific connection between the Bible and sports. From Florida Gators quaterback Tim Tebow's face to signs in every ballpark to the bottom of a paper cup from In-N-Out Burger (source: ), the verse has become part of mainstream American culture. While one can see this verse as empowering, does one really think that God is going to guarantee them victory? Many people, including myself at times, play to God for something to go right in a game, but do people really believe it does anything? Its like yelling at your TV at home. It makes you feel better and more connected to the event, and it may help your peace of mind, but does it affect the outcome of the game? If yes, then show me multiple examples...
CHCA just goes downhill from the plastering of John 3:16 and the accompanying eagle (their mascot) mural on the wall. Their student section is known for being among the nastiest and most obnoxious in the city. Some of their stunts have included chanting "Jew-Boy" every time former Stinger and personal friend Drew Kohn took a free throw (By the end, none of our students minded, because we were beating them so badly in recent years), and chanting "We got Jesus" in response to anything where they had been outwitted (which was almost everything considering the college lists between 7 Hills and CHCA). CHCA has also been the poster child for poor sport behavior from their girls basketball coach going on a curse-ridden tirade after a defeat two years ago (leading to an ejection) to mens' and womens' tennis coach Lynn McNally-Nabors not showing up for a certain match that she knew her team was going to lose. I could even more personal and provide more examples (include fake soccer injuries and the cockiest baseball team in Ohio), but one can understand my overall point that while CHCA preaches a Christian message of equity and fairness, their actions on the playing field are very far from these goals.
I have no problem with faith enforcing the positive aspects of the morals and values of a society. However, these schools tend to only show the worst sides of their respective religions in venues where religion is not necessary. There are many positive aspects of every religion, but these groups do not play up these universal values, but instead do not practice what they preach and in the meanwhile focus on the most polarizing aspects of the religion. Keep those thoughts in the church and let's play basketball!
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Ground Troops in Gaza
At first, I wanted to continue writing about my cruise, but the current situation in Gaza is too pressing and too close to me not to write about it. Right now, Israel has sent in ground troops into less populated areas of the Gaza Strip in order to put further pressure on Hamas to halt all rocket attacks. While I agree with the goals of this operation, the means that Israel is using to achieve these ends are not perfect and the loss of any non-terrorist life is a clear tragedy. Below you will find a brief history of the situation and bits of my views on the current actions of both sides in the conflict.
The history of the region since 2005 shows the mutual failure of Israel and Hamas to achieve a stable, free Palestinian state in the Gaza Strip. When Israel withdrew from Gaza unilaterally in 2005, there were wide hopes that the Palestinians could establish a lasting, civil state within the Gaza Strip. However, what has occurred in the past three and a half years is very far from those hopes and dreams. Upon departure, Israel left behind successful industries that the citizens of Gaza could have used to establish a successful economy from a prospering greenhouse plants industry to farms that produced a decent portion of Israel's annual harvest. There were also factories that employed many Palestinians under Israeli control from 1967-2005. As the last Israeli troops left, all of those facilities were raided and different people stole valuable parts, which made these facilities unusable.
With few jobs in Gaza and stories of supposed success from Hamas for ending the Israeli occupation, Hamas was in a great position in time for the January 2006 elections. Hamas provided social services that no other organization (Palestinian, Israeli, or global, i.e. United Nations, Red Cross) was providing at the time. With this context, it is not surprising that Hamas won the elections in Gaza with a platform that centered on the destruction on the democratic state of Israel. To be fair, Israel did occupy Gaza for 38 years and the people of Gaza were looking forward to self-rule for the first time in modern history. The international community did not respond kindly to the election of a group that called from the destruction of Israel. The international community placed three demands on Hamas in order for them to gain a seat at the table: recognize Israel right to exist, accept the Fatah agreements with Israel, and renounce violence as a means for achieving their goals.
The democratic process broke down quickly. At first, Hamas had a narrow edge among the Gaza representatives in Ramallah (seat of the Palestinian Parliament in the West Bank). In June 2007, Hamas was frustrated with the lack of progress through political means, so they seized total control of the Gaza Strip in a brutal civil war with Fatah. It is estimated that over a thousand Palestinians were killed in this brutal, internal conflict. In order to prove their complete control, Hamas laid mines all over their borders with Israel and Egypt in order to protect their land from any external invasion. At this same time, Hamas continued to fire rockets into sovereign Israeli territory. The IDF has noted that over 10,250 rockets have been fired into sovereign Israel from Hamas in the past eight year. Also, during this period, Hamas abducted Israeli solider Gilad Shalit from Israel-proper. Gilad is presumed to still be alive based on current information and is one of the biggest objects of leverage in the Hamas arsenal. One of the main reasons, I fear this current ground invasion is that I do not want to see any more Israeli soldiers fall into Hamas custody.
Due to the conflict in Lebanon and other various international pressures, Israel had not decided to respond to the constant barrage of rockets into Sderot and other communities near Gaza within proper Israeli borders. The situation continued to grow worse as time progressed and considering the ties between Hamas and Iran, many Arab states as well as Israel wanted to see a peaceful solution to this issue. Therefore, Egypt stepped in as a lead moderator to negotiate a six-month cease fire between Israel and Hamas that lasted until Dec. 19, 2008. As the cease fire ended, it was clear that Hamas was going to start launching rockets into Israel the day it expired. Hamas could have spent the last three years working with the international community to achieve a stable state within Gaza, but they willing chose not to do so.
Even though Hamas was a democratically-elected government, it has not served the role of a democratic government that is responsible for the welfare of its citizens. If it was a true democracy, then it would have continued to provide social services without the need to join its jihad against Israel. It would have given the citizens a chance for their children to get an actual, objective education instead of one that focused on destroying Israel from day one. So every time Hamas uses the argument that they were elected in a democratic process, remember that the basic tenets of democracy do not exist in Gaza. Again any state that calls for all of the citizens of a bordering state to be thrown into the sea, cannot be called a true democracy. Here is a link to quotes from the current leader of Hamas, and you can tell me what you think about them, . While Hamas may recognize the reality of the situation, the Holocaust is still much worse than any action Israel has committed.
With these conditions and newer, stronger rockets, Israel had finally reached its breaking point in dealing with Hamas. A week ago, Israel launched an aggressive bombing campaign on many Hamas targets across the Gaza Strip in order to halt the rocket attacks. At first, I was confused on why Israel believed that it could use force to quell the attacks coming from Gaza since it seemed as though violence only leads to more violence. For this week, the cycle of violence has kept on escalating to the point where Israel saw no other way to stop the rocket attacks on its citizens besides launching the ground invasion. While most of the world, including the Winograd Report (Israeli internal investigation of the Lebanon War), viewed the war with Hezbollah as a disaster, there have been no more rockets raining down on the north since 2006. Even it takes a month or two and causes Israeli causalities, the IDF believes that the end game of stopping the rocket attacks will be worthwhile.
The most troubling aspect of the entire situation for me are the non-Hamas related deaths within the Gaza Strip. During the bombing campaign, it is very unclear how many of the Palestinians that were killed were directly tied to Hamas. Without real identification, we have no idea who exactly was killed in the strikes. Even if we know the people, we are not always sure of their ties to Hamas. Just because a woman or a child died in an attack does not mean that they are always innocent. In 2006, Hamas tried to sent a sixty year-old grandmother into Israel to launch a suicide bombing on Israeli civilians. Is anyone who voted for Hamas in 2006 a target? You have to draw the line somewhere, but I have no idea where that line is drawn. Also, Gaza is a very densely populated area, so there is going to be some collateral damage. I really hope Israel is doing everything possible to minimize non-Hamas deaths, but I have very serious doubts. It is encouraging to see Israel send across trucks of humanitarian aid into Gaza every day, but those trucks are being seized by Hamas as they cross the border in order to make sure the leadership gets more than its fair share and therefore starves the population. Maybe with Israeli troops on the ground, the situation will improve for the average Gazan on a humanitarian level.
For me, the biggest question is now, how will this operation end? With the transition of power in the United States, the government is doing a pathetic job at trying to bring the sides together to create a lasting peace. Hopefully, the new Obama administration will set this goal as a high priority instead of something that is only pursued during the waning months of an administration. Unless Israel totally uproots Hamas from Gaza (something I am not sure Israel even wants to do considering the resulting anarchy and possible need for a long occupation of Gaza), Israel is going to have to force Hamas to make concessions if it is going to have any power in Gaza. Israel is trying to put a choke hold on Hamas, and maybe they believe this will lead to a forced peace, but it sound way too idealistic. In the meanwhile, Tony Blair, Nicholas Sarkozy, and the European Union is playing the role that the United States used to play in international affairs. While it is nice to see the EU caring about the rest of the world, a non-presence from the US only hurts American interests in the region and the world.
At this point, we can only guess what the future will bring and it sure looks dim. If Israel can stop the Hamas attacks, then it will be a great achievement which if done correctly restores the power of the Israeli military in the eyes of the world as the power in the Middle East. Many Sunni states from Egypt to Saudi Arabia are privately hoping that Israel can quickly defeat the Iranian-backed Hamas so they can maintain a balance of power over Iran. However, the populations of these nations are siding with Hamas in the interest of the mutual hatred of the existence of the state of Israel. If the conflict does not end soon, there are fears that these protests could seriously affect the ruling regimes across the Middle East. Throw an Israeli election next month into the mix, and this situation could be the catalyst for a new Middle East. But new does not mean better or mean peaceful based on the current conditions of the Middle East. Maybe there is hope for a lasting peace and seeing two or three prosperous states living side-by-side, but sadly this does not appear to be on the horizon.
The history of the region since 2005 shows the mutual failure of Israel and Hamas to achieve a stable, free Palestinian state in the Gaza Strip. When Israel withdrew from Gaza unilaterally in 2005, there were wide hopes that the Palestinians could establish a lasting, civil state within the Gaza Strip. However, what has occurred in the past three and a half years is very far from those hopes and dreams. Upon departure, Israel left behind successful industries that the citizens of Gaza could have used to establish a successful economy from a prospering greenhouse plants industry to farms that produced a decent portion of Israel's annual harvest. There were also factories that employed many Palestinians under Israeli control from 1967-2005. As the last Israeli troops left, all of those facilities were raided and different people stole valuable parts, which made these facilities unusable.
With few jobs in Gaza and stories of supposed success from Hamas for ending the Israeli occupation, Hamas was in a great position in time for the January 2006 elections. Hamas provided social services that no other organization (Palestinian, Israeli, or global, i.e. United Nations, Red Cross) was providing at the time. With this context, it is not surprising that Hamas won the elections in Gaza with a platform that centered on the destruction on the democratic state of Israel. To be fair, Israel did occupy Gaza for 38 years and the people of Gaza were looking forward to self-rule for the first time in modern history. The international community did not respond kindly to the election of a group that called from the destruction of Israel. The international community placed three demands on Hamas in order for them to gain a seat at the table: recognize Israel right to exist, accept the Fatah agreements with Israel, and renounce violence as a means for achieving their goals.
The democratic process broke down quickly. At first, Hamas had a narrow edge among the Gaza representatives in Ramallah (seat of the Palestinian Parliament in the West Bank). In June 2007, Hamas was frustrated with the lack of progress through political means, so they seized total control of the Gaza Strip in a brutal civil war with Fatah. It is estimated that over a thousand Palestinians were killed in this brutal, internal conflict. In order to prove their complete control, Hamas laid mines all over their borders with Israel and Egypt in order to protect their land from any external invasion. At this same time, Hamas continued to fire rockets into sovereign Israeli territory. The IDF has noted that over 10,250 rockets have been fired into sovereign Israel from Hamas in the past eight year. Also, during this period, Hamas abducted Israeli solider Gilad Shalit from Israel-proper. Gilad is presumed to still be alive based on current information and is one of the biggest objects of leverage in the Hamas arsenal. One of the main reasons, I fear this current ground invasion is that I do not want to see any more Israeli soldiers fall into Hamas custody.
Due to the conflict in Lebanon and other various international pressures, Israel had not decided to respond to the constant barrage of rockets into Sderot and other communities near Gaza within proper Israeli borders. The situation continued to grow worse as time progressed and considering the ties between Hamas and Iran, many Arab states as well as Israel wanted to see a peaceful solution to this issue. Therefore, Egypt stepped in as a lead moderator to negotiate a six-month cease fire between Israel and Hamas that lasted until Dec. 19, 2008. As the cease fire ended, it was clear that Hamas was going to start launching rockets into Israel the day it expired. Hamas could have spent the last three years working with the international community to achieve a stable state within Gaza, but they willing chose not to do so.
Even though Hamas was a democratically-elected government, it has not served the role of a democratic government that is responsible for the welfare of its citizens. If it was a true democracy, then it would have continued to provide social services without the need to join its jihad against Israel. It would have given the citizens a chance for their children to get an actual, objective education instead of one that focused on destroying Israel from day one. So every time Hamas uses the argument that they were elected in a democratic process, remember that the basic tenets of democracy do not exist in Gaza. Again any state that calls for all of the citizens of a bordering state to be thrown into the sea, cannot be called a true democracy. Here is a link to quotes from the current leader of Hamas, and you can tell me what you think about them, . While Hamas may recognize the reality of the situation, the Holocaust is still much worse than any action Israel has committed.
With these conditions and newer, stronger rockets, Israel had finally reached its breaking point in dealing with Hamas. A week ago, Israel launched an aggressive bombing campaign on many Hamas targets across the Gaza Strip in order to halt the rocket attacks. At first, I was confused on why Israel believed that it could use force to quell the attacks coming from Gaza since it seemed as though violence only leads to more violence. For this week, the cycle of violence has kept on escalating to the point where Israel saw no other way to stop the rocket attacks on its citizens besides launching the ground invasion. While most of the world, including the Winograd Report (Israeli internal investigation of the Lebanon War), viewed the war with Hezbollah as a disaster, there have been no more rockets raining down on the north since 2006. Even it takes a month or two and causes Israeli causalities, the IDF believes that the end game of stopping the rocket attacks will be worthwhile.
The most troubling aspect of the entire situation for me are the non-Hamas related deaths within the Gaza Strip. During the bombing campaign, it is very unclear how many of the Palestinians that were killed were directly tied to Hamas. Without real identification, we have no idea who exactly was killed in the strikes. Even if we know the people, we are not always sure of their ties to Hamas. Just because a woman or a child died in an attack does not mean that they are always innocent. In 2006, Hamas tried to sent a sixty year-old grandmother into Israel to launch a suicide bombing on Israeli civilians. Is anyone who voted for Hamas in 2006 a target? You have to draw the line somewhere, but I have no idea where that line is drawn. Also, Gaza is a very densely populated area, so there is going to be some collateral damage. I really hope Israel is doing everything possible to minimize non-Hamas deaths, but I have very serious doubts. It is encouraging to see Israel send across trucks of humanitarian aid into Gaza every day, but those trucks are being seized by Hamas as they cross the border in order to make sure the leadership gets more than its fair share and therefore starves the population. Maybe with Israeli troops on the ground, the situation will improve for the average Gazan on a humanitarian level.
For me, the biggest question is now, how will this operation end? With the transition of power in the United States, the government is doing a pathetic job at trying to bring the sides together to create a lasting peace. Hopefully, the new Obama administration will set this goal as a high priority instead of something that is only pursued during the waning months of an administration. Unless Israel totally uproots Hamas from Gaza (something I am not sure Israel even wants to do considering the resulting anarchy and possible need for a long occupation of Gaza), Israel is going to have to force Hamas to make concessions if it is going to have any power in Gaza. Israel is trying to put a choke hold on Hamas, and maybe they believe this will lead to a forced peace, but it sound way too idealistic. In the meanwhile, Tony Blair, Nicholas Sarkozy, and the European Union is playing the role that the United States used to play in international affairs. While it is nice to see the EU caring about the rest of the world, a non-presence from the US only hurts American interests in the region and the world.
At this point, we can only guess what the future will bring and it sure looks dim. If Israel can stop the Hamas attacks, then it will be a great achievement which if done correctly restores the power of the Israeli military in the eyes of the world as the power in the Middle East. Many Sunni states from Egypt to Saudi Arabia are privately hoping that Israel can quickly defeat the Iranian-backed Hamas so they can maintain a balance of power over Iran. However, the populations of these nations are siding with Hamas in the interest of the mutual hatred of the existence of the state of Israel. If the conflict does not end soon, there are fears that these protests could seriously affect the ruling regimes across the Middle East. Throw an Israeli election next month into the mix, and this situation could be the catalyst for a new Middle East. But new does not mean better or mean peaceful based on the current conditions of the Middle East. Maybe there is hope for a lasting peace and seeing two or three prosperous states living side-by-side, but sadly this does not appear to be on the horizon.
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