Democracy

U.S. foreign policy, torn between what could simplistically called democratic idealogues and balance-of-power "realists," has simultaneously backed the notion of "democracy" in abstract, and leaned on various fledgling democratic processes to support preferred candidates, or ignored them all together when the outcome was wrong. It happened during the Cold War, and it's happening now in Gaza and Iraq:

The United States championed Israel's departure from the Gaza Strip as a first step toward peace and then pressed both Israelis and Palestinians to schedule legislative elections, which Hamas unexpectedly won. Now Hamas is the unchallenged power in Gaza....[Now, Bush] faces the prospect of a shattered Palestinian Authority, a radical Islamic state on Israel's border and increasingly dwindling options to turn the tide against Hamas and create a functioning Palestinian state.

Upon the election of Hamas, U.S. observers realized that they did have a dog in this fight, and, "organized a financial boycott of the government, in an effort to showcase Abbas as a moderate alternative in his role as president." This backfired:

the financial squeeze engendered Palestinian ill will toward the West, not Hamas, and Abbas earlier this year agreed to a unity government with his opponents. The United States had just begun delivering nonlethal aid and training to security forces loyal to Abbas when Hamas decided to strike and seize Gaza.

Now, with Abbas dissolving the unity government, Hamas seizing Gaza and Fatah hunkering down in the West Bank, this fault line between Hamas and U.S.-preferred (but incompetent) Fatah has been starkly, and geographically, realized. But the U.S. shouldn't take the bait, says Daniel Levy:

America should resist calls to play off the West Bank against Gaza and Fatah against Hamas. Instead, allow Palestinian politics to take its course, prepare to re-launch a serious Israeli-Palestinian political process as soon as any opening exists, and work where possible to create such an opening.

Another lesson on the limits of America's ability to shape the political realities of the Middle East.