Captain Ed reports developments in the buildup to a civil war in the Middle East. Not in Iraq, but in the Palestinian territories. He's not exactly impressed with how the Palestinians have reacted to the Israeli withdrawal from the occupied territories.
This shows again the brilliance of Ariel Sharon in pulling out of Gaza. He allowed the Palestinians to create a laboratory to demonstrate their inability to rule while freeing Israel of a drain on its blood and treasure, a drain that would never have wound up in their possession anyway. He removed the Israelis living in the isolated settlements and left the Palestinians to their own devices.
And look how the Palestinians have reacted. They have destroyed much of the economic development that the settlers established as well as the agricultural projects funded by the West to help the Palestinians become more self-sufficient. Instead of creating a civil authority, the two terrorist groups that pass for political parties have turned Gaza into a series of armed camps, ready to break out into open warfare at any moment. Sharon knew that Fatah and Hamas could not possibly govern but only impose petty fiefdoms based on proximity to their arms. Now the world knows it, too.
