The problem with having John Kerry as Secretary of State - well, in addition to the fact that Kerry is nowhere near as smart or skilled as he thinks he is - is that he can't help but see moral equivalence between the world aligned with America and the world aligned with our geopolitical foes.
Kerry has little use for notions like democracy and freedom because he himself is a snooty elitist who really doesn't think ordinary people can self-govern. So to him there is little virtue to a system that allows people to choose their own leaders and their own form of government. They might choose a brute like Benjamin Netanyahu, or a rube like George W. Bush.
Worst of all, they might not choose John Kerry when given the chance.
So no one should really be surprised that Kerry recently proposed a Gaza cease fire under terms entirely favorable to Hamas, completely undercutting the interests of our ally Israel. Kerry has no trouble believing that Hamas launches rockets into Israel as a result of legitimate grievances for which they have no other means of resolution. He has no trouble believing Israel deserves what it gets.
What's often entertaining about observing people like John Kerry is their reaction when reality smacks them in the face, which is what's happened in recent days as Hamas has shown its true colors so unmistakably that even a delusional fool like Kerry can't look so far the other way that he can get the horror out of his peripheral vision.
Speaking to the BBC, Kerry said that both sides needed to make a "bigger, broader approach to the underlying solution of two states," adding "I believe that the situation now that has evolved will concentrate people's minds on the need to get back to the negotiations and try and resolve the issues."
Kerry spoke on the second day of the truce, which came into effect Tuesday morning and was precipitated by Israel's withdrawal of all ground forces from Gaza. Israeli troops had begun their ground offensive July 17, nine days after the commencement of airstrikes against Hamas rocket sites as part of Operation Protective Edge. Israel said it had destroyed 32 cross-border tunnels used by Hamas to attack Israeli soldiers and civilians.
In the BBC interview, Kerry said that Israel had a right to defend itself against rocket attacks from Gaza, saying ""No country can live with that condition and the United States stands squarely behind Israel's right to defend itself in those circumstances. Period."
Kerry added that Hamas had "behaved in an unbelievably shocking manner engaging in this activity and, yes, there has been horrible collateral damage as a result."
That third paragraph might seem to undercut my argument, because Kerry appears to completely support Israel's right to defend itself. Here's why it doesn't: Kerry doesn't mean a word he says and never has. Kerry effortlessly spews diplomat-speak nonsense designed to check the for-public-consumption box. Israel is supposed to be our ally, so publicly you make pronouncements that make it sound like we support our ally, while undercutting them behind the scenes by pressuring them to accept cease-fire agreements that are against their best interests.
Even the statement that both sides need to get back to the negotiating table is a betrayal of Israel, because it implies you can negotiate with Hamas in good faith. You can't. The objective of Hamas is the destruction of Israel, and the tactic of Hamas is to promise whatever it needs to promise to get what it wants, then do whatever it feels like doing in the aftermath.
All of this started because Hamas was using Gaza tunnels to smuggle rockets for use in attacks against Israel. The Israelis acted to destroy the tunnels because that was the logical thing to do to stop the rocket attacks and protect its people. There is nothing to negotiate with a party like Hamas. All you can do is destroy them. John Kerry can never get that because he can't accept the moral proposition that Israel is blameless here. Because they are aligned with the west, they have to be a provocateur in some way. John Kerry's worldview can't work if they're not.
Thank God America didn't elect this stumblebum president. Too bad that good judgment proved to have such a short shelf life.
