09 February 2010

Hamas Backtracks on Apology for Israeli Rocket Attacks

Good. I've been already worried about having to kiss with this troika. Brr...

Seriosly, though: the best explanation for the retraction of the apology could be found in this quote:

Hamas likely came under domestic pressure to retract the apology after it became public, said Gaza analyst Naji Sharrab. "They are addressing two different audiences," Sharrab said of Hamas.
Since the days of the late and unlamented here Yasser A., widely known for his forked tongue, used to convey two completely different messages - one for the "home consumption" and one to the useful idiots abroad - Hamas is having a bit of trouble to follow in his steps.

So my best advice to the terrorists will be: never apologize, never explain...

4 comments:

Dick Stanley said...

At least don't apologize in Arabic.

SnoopyTheGoon said...

Yep, should have thought about it.

David All said...

"Never Apologize, Never Explain" or something like that was the tittle of Henry Ford Jr.'s autobiography. (If I recall correctly)

SnoopyTheGoon said...

Hmm... I tried to look it up, and it says here:

http://ask.metafilter.com/73521/Who-Said

The generally reliable though not infallible Bartlett's Familiar Quotations gives the source as the screenplay for the 1949 film She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, written by Frank S. Nugent and Laurence Stallings. The line is spoken by John Wayne and the exact quote reads, "Never apologize and never explain--it's a sign of weakness." In a footnote, Bartletts' gives an earlier source, with a variant form: "Never contradict. Never explain. Never apologize. (Those are the secrets of a happy life!)." --John Arbuthnot Fisher (1841-1920), letter to The Times of London, September 5, 1919.