In Gaza, Hamas emerges triumphant. John Podhoretz says that one result of their victory will be an end to the phrase "Palestinian state" for a very, very long time. Martin Indyk has thought on the result, as well. I am of the view that the result is not necessarily such a bad thing, both for those Palestinians who really want a peace deal with Israel and for the Israelis themselves. Now that Hamas has won in Gaza, they will have to govern. I suspect that things will get pretty bad there, a process that may turn more Palestinians against Hamas. In any event, if Fatah can consolidate its position on the West Bank, the Israelis may be able to make a separate deal with them. Of course, if the Iranians can find a way to continue to support Hamas in Gaza, then all bets are off.

Joe Lieberman writes an op-ed about what he saw in Iraq. Bill Kristol and Fred Kagan say that al-Qaeda's recent atrocities are part of a "slow motion Tet" designed to win the war by defeating us here at home. They are both correct, it seems to me. We are making progress in Iraq against al-Qaeda, while we continue to lose ground politically here at home. Like Vietnam, the Iraq War will be lost on the home-front, not by the soldiers in the field.

Con Coughlin says Israel is now surrounded on all sides by Islamic fundamentalists.

Here is a must-read piece about America's fading martial spirit, which explains very well the growing disconnect between our military and the society-at-large and why wars such as Korea, Vietnam and Iraq are difficult to prosecute while maintaining public support.