Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Winning Hearts and Minds

According to al-Jazeera, Hamas is set to hand out money to Gazans afflicted by Israel's offensive on the Gaza Strip.

“Hamas is set to hand out money to Gazans afflicted by Israel's offensive on the Gaza Strip.

The territory's government was due to start giving out the money, expected to total about $45m, on Sunday - a day after a Hamas committee was established to oversee relief efforts.

Ahmed al-Kurd, the Hamas-appointed minister of social affairs, also heads the National High Committee for Relief which will distribute the money to those who lost family members or their homes."

We have been here before. The Taliban rushed to help victims of the earthquake in Pakistan, and Hezbollah famously moved into ravaged southern Lebanon with bulldozers on the heels of the departing Israelis in 2006.

As Obama clearly recognized in his interview with al-Arabiya, building—rather than destroying--society is key. After a week of so-called “ceasefire” in Gaza, it is once more the Islamic radicals who are seizing the initiative to win hearts and minds by rebuilding society.

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