"...In the Gaza elections, Fatah won only 26 out of 117 seats while Hamas won 76, according to preliminary reports, which Fatah discounted.

"An Arab survey center´s exit polls gave Hamas victory in three of four districts in Gaza. Hamas also showed strength in the recent elections in Samaria in which it won more than a third of local council seats. Thursday´s voter turnout in the first-ever Gaza elections was more than 80 per cent."

We live in a time where our most intelligent and fearless citizens, in Israel as well as America, have turned their backs on common sense and reason. Instead, they devote their allegiance to expedience and folly.

General Tommy Franks, the retired chief of US Central Command , is a man whom I greatly admire and respect. His leadership is unparalleled in instilling confidence in his troops in the war against terrorism.

Yet, recently, he commented on the elections in Iraq that it does not matter whom they elect just as long as they vote, for that is the will of the people. Does Tommy Franks honestly believe the idea that free elections bring democracy to a people who approve of terrorists walking freely amongst them?

Such was the case in this most recent Palestinian election. It is obvious to me that when terrorists are allowed to vote in any elections, it is a bastardization of the democratic process. The purpose of free and fair democratic elections is not to legitimize the creation of a terrorist state, but to give people a chance to elect officials who support an infrastructure that uphold liberty´s mandates.

So when Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas stated, "We will demonstrate to the world that the Palestinian people chose to hold free and fair democratic elections," it became obvious to me he is using the idea of democratic process here as a subterfuge to gain leverage from the international community. By playing on what people in the West think would be the greatest hope for the success of peace in the Middle East, the creation of a democratic state of Palestine, Mahmoud Abbas has managed to legitimize his election. His success is reflected in the Western media. His latest ruse now demonstrates that in international affairs, ignorance - not oil - is the most common product of the Middle East.

The idea that free elections will lead to a society where free choice becomes a time-honored mandate, while the majority believes that allegiance to the words of Allah overrides allegiance to people´s fundamental rights, is more than a bit of a stretch.

Maybe banning the Koran for a few years and handing out copies of America´s Bill of Rights and Constitution might be in order first. This is not very likely, of course, because the separation of mosque and state - the ultimate weapon to end to the spread of terrorism and tyranny in the Middle East - has become a dirty word for those who are in charge of spreading liberty there.

Ironically, truly free elections will serve a purpose in the Palestinian Authority, because they will finally certify the true spirit of the Palestinian movement - allegiance to terrorism and anti- Semitism, all in the name of Islam. Unfortunately, the notion that free elections equal democracy, because it is the "will of the people", will become the latest expedient for the international community to call for the creation of a Palestinian state. There is no end to the number of fools who will sanction this madness.

Two weeks ago, the former president of United States, Jimmy Carter, and his international posse set out to do just that. They embarked on a voyage to the Palestinian Authority to insure that the election was not compromised. However, there was no mention from any of them about the lack of free press, the implementation of religious tyranny or terrorists´ immunity from prosecution, all sanctioned by the Palestinian Authority.

Yet, the observers issued a certificate of authenticity by proclaiming "because the Palestinians have shown good faith in their elections, they are now in good standing with the international community. As a result, the Palestinians are fully qualified to negotiate on equal terms with the state of Israel in order to create a Road Map for peace."

The international community will meet again in England this year, hosted by Tony Blair. There, they will demand that Israel must respect the will of the Palestinian leaders, because the latter were elected by their people in free and democratic elections.

There, Tony Blair will try to resurrect his political career by using his "I supported you" card to pressure President George Bush to back Mahmoud Abbas. He will do this in order to appease the leaders and people of his own country and of the European Union, who now have both become more than apprehensive about the staggering growth of Muslim populations in their nations.

If he can accomplish this, he can extract himself from being in the middle of a dispute in which the European Union´s abhorrence of the United States´ policy in support of Israel continues to grow; and he can shore up his commitment to his own people, the European Union and the United Nations by putting the onus on Israel to create peace in the Middle East.

Free elections equal democracy? So much for putting the spread of democracy in the hands of fools. (IsraelNationalNews © 01/30/05)