Palestinian Opposes Provisional State -AP
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told Secretary of State Condolezza Rice that he opposes the establishment of a provisional Palestinian state within temporary borders.
[New York Times]
US seeks 86 million dollars in military aid to Palestinians
Bush has asked Congress to authorize 86 million dollars in military aid to boost security forces loyal to moderate Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas.
[The News-International]
3 comments:
Certainly, the two articles show a fundamental disparity, but that is because this disparity is a symptom of our government, not the Palestinians. Rice claims that she "was asked for more US involvement in the peace process". This was the only key statement not attributed directly. I think Rice, like W. Bush, lives in her own dreamland of what the mideast is, could be, and what this administration is doing about it. Much like the Presidents staements about sending more troops to iraq, it is clear that this administration does not understand the mideast, and hasn't a clue how to handle Iraq, or the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. To the Palestinians, more involvement, if they requested it, means 'the US should force Israel to capitulate'. Bush is afraid that Hamas, which won election to power under Bush's failed mideast policies, would be an absolute disaster in actuality, and to his ever dimming legacy, if he has to accept them as the sole government of the Palestinians. Abbas knows this, and thus can say and do what he wants and still get US aid. As the failures mount, and the pressures get put upon our allies all over the world, even the handful of diehard BOOB's (Believers Of Omniscient Bush) will finally have to accept that six years of failed policies have left this a much more dangerous world. Iraqis know this. That is why they were so angry about the hanging of Saddam. They know he is now part of the only safe group of Iraqis. And they all sit around their tables each day and night, looking at their families, and wondering when they will join that select group that no longer have to worry about bombs or assasination squads. The more people, such as our avid soundbiter, rail against Abbas, you will only see W. support him more, because W. helped lay the foundation of the even worse choice right next to him. And as long as things got so hopeless that the Palestinians voted in Hamas, there will be no constructive work going on, as the US tries to deal with just driving that band of terrorists back out of legitimate government.
Blaming the state of Palestinian society on America seems reductionistic. These problems are longstanding [Palestinian Arab rejectionism stretches back to the 1920's].
The problems in Palestinian society have been wrongly blamed on Israel as well [see Carter].
Palestinians need to accept responsibility for the state of their own society. It wasn't too long ago that Clinton [Bill, not Hillary] was talking about "the peace dividend," and a "new Middle East" seemed just around the corner. Were we all blind to the maximalist goals of Palestinian Arabs?
I don't think I blamed the state of Palestinian Society on America or anyone else. I pointed out why things will not improve during the W. Bush Presidency. I said Rice's unattributed quote was probably false. And that Bush does not understand the mideast at all, as seen from his Arab-Israeli strategies to his handling of Iraq. However, not being responsible does not mean we cannot help the situation. Sure, they need tot ake responsibility for themselves, and all the Arab states should have to lend aid and a hand to help. But it is encumbent on the West. that created the modern state of israel, to work to stabilize the situation as well. It is a bigger problem than just the Palestinians and Israelis.
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