John, Hmmm. Let’s go through a number of these points (1) Does it matter whether the Gaza Strip is controlled by the PLO or Hamas? Yes, it does. Yes, both groups are repellent, murderous and thuggish (insert the appropriate insulting adjective of your choice), but, as George Bush himself has acknowledged, there is at least *some* hope (however remote) that the PLO – or a successor organization – will one day come to a deal with Israel. The same cannot be said of Hamas. A Gaza under the control of Hamas will be a territory that combines poverty, state failure and Islamic fundamentalism. We’ve been there before, and it ended in 9/11. (2) King Abdullah. For all its faults, Abdullah’s Jordan is a country the West can deal with. If Abdullah were to fall, that would almost certainly change. Yesterday’s events have increased the chances that he will. That is not in America’s interest, and it is not in Israel’s (3) War. The purpose of war is to win, not to vent. Yesterday Sharon vented.