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Twitter has just fallen for the oldest trick in the terrorist organization playbook. It’s resisting a bipartisan congressional call to exclude Hamas and Hezbollah from operating freely on its platform on the grounds that it allows only the “political” but not the “military” factions to tweet. The geniuses at the Silicon Valley tech giant have been duped by what I call the <a href="https://www.meforum.org/6261/the-terrorist-wing-scam" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.meforum.org/6261/the-terrorist-wing-scam&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1572021847554000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHGFzA7RYJK_UDIFzAZE_jIVS5e4g">terrorist wing scam</a>.
For over a century, the most successful terrorist organizations have learned to disguise their true nature by creating political and charitable “wings,” “arms,” or “branches” (the metaphor varies). These enterprises act like dummy corporations, allowing groups to participate in the very same civil societies which they attack. Ever since the IRA pretended that Sinn Fein was the “political wing” of the Irish resistance, only loosely connected to the “militant IRA,” other terrorist groups have followed suit, either with political or charitable “wings.” Successful counterterrorism begins with rejecting this illusion of separation.
Twitter’s gullibility first came to light on September 22, when a bipartisan <a href="https://www.insidernj.com/press-release/joint-release-twitter-bucks-u-s-law-defends-terrorist-organizations-hezbollah-hamas/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.insidernj.com/press-release/joint-release-twitter-bucks-u-s-law-defends-terrorist-organizations-hezbollah-hamas/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1572021847554000&amp;usg=AFQjCNE3NdjEtQzgmE2E6qxOfYNHOA_3jw">press release</a> by Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), Tom Reed (R-NY), Max Rose (D-NY), and Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-R) pointed out that Twitter allows Hamas and Hezbollah to operate accounts in clear violation of U.S. law criminalizing “material support” for U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations. The congressmen demanded that Twitter “remove all content from Foreign Terrorist Organizations.”
Twitter <a href="https://gottheimer.house.gov/uploadedfiles/9.24.2019_twitter_response_to_gottheimer.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://gottheimer.house.gov/uploadedfiles/9.24.2019_twitter_response_to_gottheimer.pdf&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1572021847554000&amp;usg=AFQjCNG33ebsUul8bJvdOg6KcRsfwHBa3w">responded</a> on September 25 with a letter from Carlos Monje, Jr., director of public policy and philanthropy, defending its policy of allowing Hamas and Hezbollah on its site. His explanation is a textbook example of what happens when one accepts the wing scam. “Twitter,” he explains, “draws a distinction between the political and military factions of these organizations.”
The letter continues to explain that “[i]ndividuals directly representing or promoting the political factions of these organizations may use Twitter in accordance with the Twitter Rules, including those outlined above. Accounts affiliated with the military wings, however, are permanently suspended.”
The Congressmen <a href="https://gottheimer.house.gov/uploadedfiles/10.22.19_gottheimer_bipartisan_reply_to_twitter_re_ftos_on_platform.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://gottheimer.house.gov/uploadedfiles/10.22.19_gottheimer_bipartisan_reply_to_twitter_re_ftos_on_platform.pdf&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1572021847554000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGa0_AyEd7VbUohZhwwBcUl1i9LIg">responded</a> on Tuesday, October 22, with a letter to Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, pointing out the flaws in his company’s policy and expressing dismay that it draws a distinction where U.S. law does not. “This distinction is not meaningful,” their response reads, “nor is it widely shared. Hezbollah and Hamas are terrorist organizations as designated by the United States Government. Period.”
Of course, they are right that the distinction is not meaningful. Even Hamas’ co-founder Ahmed Yasin <a href="https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/uploads/Documents/opeds/4224db3950778.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/uploads/Documents/opeds/4224db3950778.pdf&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1572021847554000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHtpggw7mk-blJWwOft2Rdtm6yCew">acknowledged</a> in 1998 that, “We cannot separate the wing from the body. If we do so, the body will not be able to fly. Hamas is one body.” In 2001, Yasin’s successor Abdul Aziz Rantisi acknowledged that “Hamas’ political wing determines the overall policy for the movement [and the] military wing operates at the pleasure of the political bureau, and is subordinate to it.” Unfortunately, they are wrong that the distinction is not widely shared.
Terrorists understand that by participating in a political process, they gain a cloak of legitimacy from foes who value participation in the process. Former President Jimmy Carter illustrated this fallacy in 2015, when he <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/carter-says-hamas-leader-committed-to-peace-netanyahu-not/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.timesofisrael.com/carter-says-hamas-leader-committed-to-peace-netanyahu-not/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1572021847555000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHVuVXTzFZB5zOCa228SlxfO5zUVQ">declared</a> of Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal, “I don’t believe that he’s a terrorist. He’s strongly in favor of the peace process.”
By falling for the scam, Twitter offers more than the privilege of dispensing wisdom 280 characters at a time. It provides its corporate stamp of approval on Hamas and Hezbollah, helping both groups build the façades behind which they hide.
Martin McGuinness (“the Butcher of Bogside”) was an IRA commander in the 1970s and also a member of Sinn Féin. Like his fellow IRA commander Gerry Addams, he was allowed to transition from terrorist to politician by participating in the “peace process.” McGuinness eventually became Sinn Fein’s chief negotiator with the British government and in June 2012, his transformation complete, he actually shook the hand of Britain&#8217;s Queen Elizabeth — whose cousin Lord Mountbatten was murdered in 1979 by the IRA he commanded.
The four congressmen gave Dorsey until November 1 to comply with their demands to follow the law. That gives him some time to study the issue, look into the history, and prevent his company from inadvertently facilitating Hamas and Hezbollah in their efforts to blend into civil society through social media.  He doesn’t have to shake their hands.
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 A.J. Caschetta is a Ginsburg-Ingerman fellow at the Middle East Forum and a principal lecturer at the Rochester Institute of Technology.

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CASCHETTA: Twitter Falls For The Terrorist Wing Scam

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Last week’s announcement that U.S.-led peace talks with the Taliban had been called off relieved many, but distressed others who were hoping for an end to our longest war. After a suicide bombing killed 12 people on Thursday, September 5th, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/08/world/asia/afghanistan-taliban-camp-david.html">acknowledged</a> that the Taliban failed to live up to its commitments. Trump tweeted: “What kind of people would kill so many in order to seemingly strengthen their bargaining position?” Welcome to the Art of the Deal, Taliban-style.
Perhaps Trump is learning from his experiences with Israel’s longest war with the Palestinians and the difficulty he has experienced with his <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/51599/israel-jason-greenblatt-has-done-crucial-work-gideon-israel">“Deal of the Century”</a> proposal. While each situation differs in some significant ways, both serve as illustrations that wars don’t end when only one side wants it to end. Until one side wins and the other acknowledges defeat, a war will continue.
The Trump administration’s desire to “finally get the hell out of Afghanistan” might be an admirable one, but our departure before the Taliban has acknowledged its defeat will be interpreted as victory and embolden the group to return to its old ways. Though the Taliban and the Afghan ISIS groups are currently at least in part rivals, no one should preclude the possibility of a union between the two.
After the first Gulf War, enough Israelis believed that their war with the Palestinians could finally come to an end. But their generosity to the dispersed PLO, exiled to Tunisia, was interpreted as weakness. The PLO exploited it to recruit a new generation of fighters — a generation they educated with their newfound autonomy. Palestinian terrorism escalated dramatically, both in the number and severity of attacks.
Soon after the talks with the Taliban were scuttled, word came out that there was a plan for members of the Taliban to join members of the Afghan government and U.S. representatives at Camp David. Some believed that having Taliban negotiators on U.S. soil on September 11th, 2019 would be worse than “bad optics” — their presence would defile the venerable retreat in Maryland. But here too, the PLO’s Yasser Arafat had already accomplished that feat, soiling the grounds with his presence in 2000. During the Clinton presidency, Arafat <a href="http://www.tomgrossmedia.com/ArafatArticles.html">spent more time</a> in the White House than any other foreign “leader.”
Inviting bad actors, even those with American blood on their hands, is acceptable only after they have been defeated and have acknowledged their defeat. Until both the Taliban and whomever the Palestinians choose as their leaders acknowledge their defeat, their presence should not be tolerated on U.S. or Israeli soil, respectively.
Perhaps neither our war against the Taliban nor Israel’s war against the PLO/PA/Hamas is actually winnable. But both are certainly lose-able.
A complete pullout of all U.S. troops and advisors from Afghanistan will be celebrated from Kandahar to Quetta as a Taliban victory. Recall how Taliban propagandists compared Obama to Gorbachev when the new U.S. president simultaneously announced both a troop surge and a subsequent date for their departure from Afghanistan.
Likewise, any Israeli offer of more accommodations, cash, and autonomy to the PLO/PA/Hamas will be seen as weakness and will be exploited. Recall Arafat’s not so-secret messages to the Palestinian critics of Oslo that the “peace process” would buy them time to gain strength and continue the fight.
For American and Israeli lawmakers, the time to talk about peace will only come when the Taliban and the Palestinians feel their defeat and believe that they have better options than continuing to fight. Until then, the best we can hope for is a managed conflict, limiting our own casualties, and inflicting more severe casualties on our enemies.
A.J. Caschetta is a Ginsburg-Ingerman fellow at the <a href="https://www.meforum.org">Middle East Forum</a> and a principal lecturer at the Rochester Institute of Technology.

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A.J. Caschetta

CASCHETTA: Twitter Falls For The Terrorist Wing Scam

CASCHETTA: War Isn’t Over Just Because You Want It To Be Over