My first thought is to paraphrase Henry Kissinger’s comment on the Iran-Iraq war, “Too bad they can’t both lose.”

I would add to that the thought that it would be nice if they broth could do it someplace where innocent women and children don’t get caught in the crossfire.

My second thought is about the consistent inability of the PLO and its successors and constituent parts to maintain military effectiveness against any sort of armed opponent.

Hamas has basically taken control of the Gaza strip in just a couple of days.

When one considers that Fatah has been in a position to arm and train its forces for 10 years more than Hamas, this boggles the mind.

Or rather, it boggles the mind until one considers the history of the PLO, Fatah, the PFLP, and the PLA (Palestinian Liberation Army).

The PLO has been consistently over marched by anything this side of a mean little kid with a pea shooter.

The performance of the PLO/Fatah in combat against any even vaguely organized military force makes the “speed bumps” of Europe, Belgium (WWI, WWII, Waterloo, and any other fight were people didn’t not want to break their own stuff) and Poland (A bunch of starving Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto held out longer against the Wehrmacht than the Polish army did) look like Georgy Zhukov’s armies marching on Berlin.

Hamas Seizing Control of Gaza Strip
By SARAH EL DEEB

Hamas fighters launched a fierce offensive on Gaza City Wednesday, firing mortars and rockets at Fatah’s main security bases and the president’s compound as the Islamic group appeared close to taking control of the entire Gaza Strip.

With fighting raging on rooftops and streets in nearly all corners of Gaza, residents huddled in fear in their homes.

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Hamas gunmen neutralized the main strongholds of the Fatah-linked security forces, ruling the streets and taking control of large parts of Gaza in the process.

Abbas’ forces – desperately trying to cling to their besieged bases in Gaza – lashed out at the president, saying he left them with no directions and no support in the fight.

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The mark of poor soldiers. They can’t do anything without orders.

Hamas, already in control of much of northern Gaza, seized the southern town of Khan Younis and began a coordinated assault on the town of Rafah, also in the south, security officials said.

The rout of the security forces was so bad that 40 Palestinian security officers broke through the border fence in Rafah and fled into Egypt seeking safety, Egyptian police said.

“What can I say? This is a fall, a collapse,” said Col. Nasser Khaldi, a senior police official in Rafah.

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