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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: NickSE who wrote (103476)	6/29/2003 6:10:03 PM
From: NickSE	Respond to of 281500

Let the Palestinian middle-class build the peace. hfienberg.com These both derive from the same theory: entrepreneurs build things faster and cheaper than governments, and they would rather trade than fight, so create a solid foundation of law and property rights and then let them loose. The "solid foundation" is easier said than done, but the policy wonk world is generally in favor of this approach to Iraq, but its application to the Palestinian problem and to the Middle East in general has a lower profile. The fact that the Palestinian standard of living rose under Israeli occupation, and dove after Arafat returned in 1994 is also not well-known. PA Finance Minister Salam Fayyad is the key to the whole thing. Bush likes how he is handling things. We know personal rapport is crucial to Bush and he and this guy bonded. (I don't know if they were introduced by Omar Karsou, but it would stand to reason he is involved at some level.) Just months ago the administration was seeking to bypass the Palestinian Authority; now it will be pushing to fund it. The U.S. government went from viewing the Palestinian Authority as a corrupt, untrustworthy apparatus, marred by terrorism, to a financially-transparent, responsible partner in the peace process. . . . "The emergence of an accountable Palestinian leadership that has put in place a finance minister, and transparency and accountability measures that I think are starting to give people confidence that the money would be used for what its intended to be used for is another one of those new conditions that we're going to want to take a look at." The proposed changed in policy comes in response to a request from the Palestinian finance minister, Salam Fayyad, when he met with Bush in the White House two weeks ago, well-placed Washington sources said. Fayyad, who previously represented the International Monetary Fund in the West Bank and Gaza, reportedly forged an immediate rapport with Bush. Fayyad's cooperation with Ernst & Young and Deloitte & Touche, the two financial consulting companies hired by the United Nations and the United States government, respectively, to audit the Palestinian Authority's finances, has earned him broad praise. It would certainly be significant if Fayyad has managed to wrest control of the pocketbook away from Arafat to the extent that prestigious international accounting firms are satisfied; if the US can keep the EU (especially France) from rushing in to rescue Arafat and Hamas like the co-dependent enablers they are, this could be a genuine turning point in how the PA operates. Which may be why Bush and Powell think the PA is ready to be tested in Gaza. Fayyad has delivered financial accountability, the foundation of a productive society. Now Mazen and his police force must deliver political accountability, legitimizing the state by enforcing its monopoly on force: they must sink their own Altalena. And Hamas - in their stupid "we only know one thing but we know it really well" kind of way - are presenting them with a big fat target. All the pieces are lined up, although in this multi-dimensional chess game played Alice in Wonderland style, each mutually hostile piece has its own agenda. There are so many independent uncontrollable factors that could derail this approach, but the ideas behind it are sound. Will Abu Mazen have the guts to take out Hamas? (I don't think it's a question of arms or personnel, because to make this work I'm sure Bush or Sharon would loan him a few Special Forces guys.) But the light bulb has to want to change. Stay tuned.