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Fiduciary Fiasco
By Micah Halpern

Welcome to The Micah Report, my ruminations on Israel, terror & security and the Middle East as well as politics and world events. Thanks for stopping by.

Column:
The Bush administration has announced, quietly, that it will be giving the Palestinian Authority $20 million to help work towards democracy. Just like that. Handing over the money.

I had hoped that the leadership of the United States would have learned from their monumental mistakes. Instead, it appears that no one in the Bush administration has learned any lessons at all.
Did the Palestinians ask for this money? Did they bow their heads, promise to turn over a new leaf and say "please"? No, they did not.

The Bush administration has undertaken of it's own free will and through the goodness of heart to make a very generous gift to the Palestinian people, a people whose only monetary history has been one of selfishness and malfeasance. Each time the Palestinian Authority has received good will money it has been a fiduciary fiasco for the donor country, a boon for the recipient.

My question is: Why not wait and see what democratic good faith tokens the Palestinians offer before giving them more money? Why jump the gun?
I am not alone. Certain members of the US Congress are in agreement, so much so that they blew a proverbial gasket at the prospect of sending the Palestinians more money. They were as surprised as any one of us. Fortunately for the US taxpayer, the governmental body charged with the responsibility of dispensing US taxpayer's money is not easily duped, certainly not the second time around.

It was bad enough that hundreds of millions of US dollars ended up lining the pockets and fattening the bank accounts of corrupt personnel, Arafat and his cronies, who bought loyalty with our money and the money given over by other Western friends of the Palestinian people. It was with those exact funds that Arafat kept his iron grip on his society while also keeping them in abject poverty. To repeat the process, to create a few new Palestinian lords and barons with US money is unconscionable.

It's not the money, it's the principle. The funds will most probably not get through Congress. In Congressional terms, $20 million is insignificant, a paltry sum for international projects. But the US Congress hates being burnt even over paltry sums, let alone after years of acknowledged misuse and outright corruption. In fact, as a result of having been deceived by the PA and Yasser Arafat, Congress placed restrictions on aid to the Palestinians and even prohibited sending them money.

Now, post Arafat, some in Congress are shouting "no" again, not until there is an absolutely transparent paper trails showing exactly where every US cent goes.

The truth, however, is that the Palestinians will probably get the money anyway. Despite Congressional disapproval and apparent displeasure, the President will win this little tussle over a few mere millions. President Bush will probably proceed with his intended plan by calling into play a presidential waiver that allows him to side step Congress for small direct allocations. Think of it as a Presidential Discretionary Slush Fund.

That is a real shame.

The more gullible amongst us will think that the president is perfectly right in his desire to give the Palestinians money. They will think that it is an appropriate good will gesture to a people on the brink - the brink of new leadership, new elections, new policies, new promises, a new future.

I would suggest that before they are given any new money, the "new" Palestinian leadership should show their true mettle.

I would suggest that the PA invest the money they do have in the election. I would suggest that they teach their people about democracy, that they set up polling stations and cobble together an infrastructure.

I would suggest that they let us get a look at their candidates. Let's watch them debate the issues publicly. Let us know where they stand on basic, crucial, elementary issues like education and curriculum. Tell us how they view their relationship with sponsored acts of terror. Explain their vision for the future vis a vis Israel. Articulate their attitude toward the United States and toward Western ideas.

Let them spend some of the money that they found in Arafat's accounts on that. Let them allocate from within so that the priorities are clear to the average citizen. Let them defend their perspectives to their opponents and to the Palestinian people.
Let's see where they fall on the issues.

Almost everyday I hear of another group threatening to boycott the elections or that the elections may be cancelled. I hear that candidates have dropped out because they want a unanimous vote. Well, that is not democracy.

If they make the first move towards behaving like a democracy, then maybe we can treat them like a democracy. Then maybe we can trust them with our money. Maybe.

28 August 2019 12:32 AM in Columns


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