Lesson in politics: How to get away with mass murder

It's all about timing.

Say you want to hit your enemy hard, but fear the repercussions with the world community? Choose the moment when the world will care least, or be absorbed with other issues, to make your strike.

It worked beautifully for Israel's attack on Gaza. Choosing the period between Christmas and the new year ensured that the Western world would be on vacation and half-drunk, unable to respond coherently to this event. Only this week, 10 long bloody days since the start of the campaign, are reactions starting to emerge worldwide.

Regarding the United States, Israel scored double: in addition to the holidays, even the presidency itself is in transition! Which president should respond? Not that I think that Obama would have acted any differently than Bush (i.e., do nothing but assert Israel's right to defend itself). So once again, Obama gets the benefit of the doubt.

Is it deliberate timing, or just sheer bad luck for Gazans? Considering that an organized air and land military campaign that will obviously last more than 2 weeks cannot be launched on the spur of the moment - that is, when 4 rockets are suddenly launched into Israel - but rather needs careful planning, the answer to me is obvious.

PS. On the other hand, I am, as always, encouraged and consoled by the reactions of the people worldwide. As has been demonstrated many times in the past, and as my friend Islam said: "Only the spontaneous reactions of people around the world provide a concrete indication of reality." Indeed, whereby diplomacy and politics are always willfully conceited to achieve hidden goals, and thus their utterances have no bearing on the truth of the matter, this is how the people express themselves.