...you have good reason. What is going on between the Israeli government and Hamas? Here are two accounts that try to make sense.Here is Juan Cole trying to make sense of the Israeli attacks on Gaza.And here is Ethan Bronner of the New York Times.Very different interpretations, except for the targets: civilians. Each side terrorizes the other's civilians in order to justify the continuing attacks. A new strategy? Mutual efforts at keeping the conflict going and keeping the support of your citizens.Even more Jeffrey Goldberg is not the most objective blogger on our subject (but then who is?), but his postings on the Israel-Gaza conflict indicate that he fears no one, especially Israel, is going to win this one--and for a variety of reasons.Roughly speaking in agreement with Jeffrey Goldberg: Stephen Walt: "Tragically, what we have here is just another example of a mindless, tit-for-tat of violence devoid of broader strategic purpose. No matter how this latest round ends, Israelis will claim to have "restored deterrence" for the umpteenth time. But we can be confident that a few months or years will go by and they will have to restore it yet again. No matter how this latest round goes, Hamas will claim it has taught Israel a lesson and reaffirmed its right of resistance. But the alleged "lesson" won't be clear and we can be confident that it won't galvanize any serious rethinking in any of the places that matter. In short, this latest little bloodletting won't make Israel more secure and won't move Hamas or the Palestinians an inch closer to their stated national aspirations. In their ceaseless competition to outdo each other's myopic behavior, Israel and Hamas are in a dead heat."