Gaza Conflict Seen As Boost To Mideast Hardliners: Analysts

[Purveyor]

PARIS (AFP) — Israel's military offensive in Gaza plays into the hands of Arab extremists and hardline regimes such as Iran while also killing off hopes for a Palestinian state, experts warn.

Islamist groups in the Arab world have been emboldened by a surge in anti-Israeli sentiment as the death toll from two weeks of Israeli air and ground attacks nears 800, they say.

"What is happening currently strengthens the hand of extreme radicals and risks destabilising moderate governments," said Denis Bauchard, a Middle East specialist from the French Institute of International Relations.

Targeted by Israel, the Palestinian militant group Hamas could well come out of the conflict with an elevated status in Arab public opinion even if it is weakened militarily, he said.

The fighting in Gaza is a new headache to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak who already "faces a difficult social and political situation" domestically, under pressure from the opposition Muslim Brotherhood, said Bauchard.

US expert Anthony Cordesman from the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) agreed that the violence in Gaza bolstered the standing of radicals across the Muslim and Arab world.

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AFP: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hz7L...

[bemildred]

1. Well, consider the map.

You have an echelon of states running from Iran through Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon, all more or less friendly (with each other) and agreed that Israel is the enemy. This is the doing of Bush and the Neocons. It was not there before they decided to "secure the realm". The current stupidity in Gaza only cements this situation. Syria(!) is asserting itself and challenging Egypt, supporting Hamas. Pakistan and Afghanistan border on being "failed states". Egypt and other states in the southern tier are worried about internal unrest and "regime change". It's one hell of a legacy.