Or should I say, the only good thing? [as far as foreign policy goes]

http://www.arabnews.com/?page=4§ion=0&article=90493&d=29&m=12&y=2006

Quote :

"US State Department Eyes Creation of a Palestinian State Barbara Ferguson, Arab News WASHINGTON, 29 December 2006 — Immediately following the beating his Republican party took in the November elections, President Bush said he understood what the American voters wanted — change. In one month, he ousted his defense secretary, announced a full-scale review of his war plan and remorsefully agreed with his critics that progress in Iraq was not happening “well enough, fast enough.” But in the last two weeks, critics and even some allies have charged that Bush appears to be backtracking from his promise of change to the American people. He has ignored suggestions by the bipartisan Iraq Study Group that he enlist the help of Iran and Syria in efforts to help stabilize Iraq. And, rather than analyze ways to bring American troops home, he has engaged in public deliberations over whether to send more. But this week, there are rumors that caught many in Washington off guard — the Bush Administration is considering a plan to declare an independent Palestinian state with provisional borders by the end of 2007. The New York-based newspaper Forward first reported the Administration is examining the possibility of establishing a Palestinian state in order to provide the president with the kind of diplomatic progress needed to regain the support of moderate Arab countries in his quest to stabilize Iraq. Bush is said to be lobbying Congress to release some $100 million in direct aid to Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah forces prior to recognition of Palestinian sovereignty. The US-backed Road Map peace plan originally called for the establishment of a Palestinian state within provisional borders by the end of 2005, but ongoing violence between Israelis and Palestinians stalled efforts to implement the agreement. The Forward newspaper said that the concept for a Palestinian state with provisional borders is based on the second phase of the stalled road map peace plan. “A diplomatic source, briefed by administration officials on the idea of a state with provisional borders, said this week that the most significant advantage the plan has is that it would allow President Bush to achieve his goal of a two-state solution within a reasonable time frame,” the Forward said in a story released at the weekend. “If implemented, such a plan also could help generate support for the United States among moderate Arab countries and possibly assist the American efforts to gain stability in Iraq.” Congressional sources told reporters that the Administration is asking lawmakers to give the $100 million in aid previously appropriated for the Palestinian Authorities but never delivered because of the Hamas victory in the January elections. The proposal, which is said to be gaining support in Congress, earmarks the funds to Fatah-controlled Palestinian security forces, mainly to Abbas’ presidential guard. The money is to be used for paying salaries and for equipment, but it would not be used for the purchase of lethal weapons. “Weapons for the security forces are to be provided by Egypt and Saudi Arabia, according to sources familiar with the plan,” the Forward said. The implications of this are that the US is significantly boosting its involvement in the Israeli Palestinian conflict and will implement a series of measures that would embolden the Fatah movement and weaken Hamas — including measures that would ultimately bring about the demise of the Hamas government. Last week, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice held a seminar attended by the US State Department’s top political brass involved in the Middle East, which included US ambassadors to countries in the region. According to Israeli sources, Rice asked this group of experts to come up with fresh and creative ideas with the purpose of consolidating a new policy for the Mideast. This policy is set to serve, among other things, as an alternative for the Baker-Hamilton report, in which the ideas suggested did not meet those of the Bush Administration. The seminar lasted a few days and comprised several work teams. By the end of the seminar a new policy was formulated and Rice is expected to bring it to the region as early as next month. Israelis newspapers, meanwhile, are reporting “modest, yet significant results” this weekend between Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Mahmoud Abbas: Olmert promised to turn over $100 million of the $500 million in tax and customs revenue that Israel has been collecting on behalf of the Palestinian Authority. These funds have been withheld since Hamas took power in March. The funds to be transferred will go to Abbas, and not to the Hamas-controlled Finance Ministry. The prime minister also promised an infusion of $35 million to Palestinian hospitals in East Jerusalem. Olmert also agreed to lift some of the roadblocks inside the West Bank and to speed up the process of making border crossings more efficient. They also agreed that the Palestinian Presidential Guard would be deployed along the Gaza-Egypt border and in the northern Gaza Strip, the Israeli papers said. At the cabinet meeting Sunday, Olmert reportedly also obtained the support of most of his Cabinet for a small prisoner-release as a gesture to Abbas, even before Hamas releases the kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. "

12/30/2006 9:40:58 AM

Awesome on its face, but I highly doubt a ceasefire would last long enough to bare this out.

12/30/2006 10:17:09 AM

^
that, and it will provide -0- benefit to the US anywhere else in the Arab world 

12/30/2006 1:25:56 PM

i'm sure you know

if we give 100,000,000 to paly

what is the ratio of that aid to the yearly aid to isry?

12/30/2006 2:20:00 PM

100,000,000 / 3,000,000,000

1/30

12/30/2006 2:42:25 PM

This doesn't even seem good "on its face." Why can't we mind our own fucking business?

12/30/2006 4:18:03 PM

Because we are the world's lone superpower and correspondingly have responsibilities in providing foreign aid and promoting human rights?

12/30/2006 5:02:56 PM

MLB FRANCHISE IN CUBA, PLZ

12/30/2006 5:45:35 PM

^^Fuck that shit. I saw we intervene in the case of genocide and genocide only.

12/30/2006 6:31:57 PM

i'd say that the attempt to "wipe israel from the face of the earth" and israel effectively attempting to wipe palestinians/arabs/brown people from the face of the earth qualifies at the very least a attempted genocide.

12/30/2006 7:26:25 PM

^^^That team would beat everyone's asses, with all Cuban players.

12/31/2006 12:02:58 AM