Posted on 12/08/2004 8:09:37 AM PST by yonif
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Bush administration on Wednesday announced it was giving $20 million in direct aid to the Palestinian Authority to help it through a financial crisis. A senior Bush administration official said it hoped the aid would encourage additional donations from other countries "at a time when the Palestinian Authority is in desperate need of budget support to pay its bills, maintain stability and allow it to focus on the larger question of governing."
The Palestinian Authority is facing a severe financial crisis due to falling tax revenues during four years of violence which has paralyzed the Palestinian economy.
The $20 million in direct aid was to be announced during an international donors conference for the Palestinians in Oslo.
It is part of a push to help the Palestinians before their Jan. 9 election, at which President Bush hopes the Palestinians will elect a democratic leader willing to negotiate peace with Israel.
"The upcoming Palestinian elections have made a functioning Palestinian Authority more important than ever," the official said. "The United States has a national security interest in helping to end the ongoing violence and terror in the Middle East and to make progress toward the president's June 24, 2002, vision of peace."
The money is to help pay utility services, including the payment of arrears to Israeli utility companies.
"The Palestinian abuse of the American goodwill can only last so long. I hope..."
You must be joking?
Gee, I wonder how much C4 you can buy with $20,000,000 bucks. How many terrorists can you send over the Mexican border? How many stingers can you buy to take out civilian airliners...
Guess we will all find out. If someone wanted the terrorism to increase because they wanted to get some political agenda through, I guess giving the Palestinians money would be the best way to do it.
With Sirhan Sirhan being a Palestinian, my guess is that this is not a very new idea, but a well beaten path.
Palestinians are a society of Political hitmen. Everyone pays them for the job they do so well.
Nader would have given them $30 billion.
Aid to the PA did start under Clinton. They didn't exist prior to that.
"This is an attempt by Bush and his administration to change the PA from a terrorist supporting organization to a truly functioning democracy."
Right... I guess all those other attempts were just warm up attempts.
You see chief. The mindless support of our enemies is never ending. Politicians are non learners, they refuse to learn from past mistakes.
Buy your enemy
a gun. He'll give it back, one
bullet at a time . . .
"Buy your enemy a gun, and he will become your friend."
and he will blow your head off with it.
Sometimes bad policy is just that - bad policy. Seems like Bush apologists will always try to rationalize his bad decisions, which seem to be increasingly frequent.
WTF does Bush think he's doing? I don't want to hear one word about how "clever" Bush is by doing this or how he has a plan in mind or how it would be 40 million if Kerry were elected..it's all BS... this is MY money this is YOUR money people..and not one red cent should go to the Palis...shame on you Mr Bush!!!!
Sway the Palestinians? You want to buy off people that blow up their own children? They get twice this a month from the EU. This is cannon fodder, pun intended.
"And lastly, it diverts attention from the war in Iraq."
Actually. Lastly, it pi$$es the he!! out of the people who voted for him. Nice way to treat your supporters.
Sadly, a slew of Bush's misguided policies are still better than having the alternative (Kerry) in office. We just have to wait until we can get a real conservative like Arnold into the White House (/sarcasm).
$20Million.
Foreign welfare.
The bush mandate.
Question: Why we need a Social Security Reform?
Answer: To finance terrorists!
Spot on.
In related news, the Bush administration announced the transfer of $20 million to Mullah Omar. "The Afghan elections have made a functioning Taliban more important than ever," the official said. "The United States has a national security interest in helping to end the ongoing violence and terror in the Middle East and to make progress toward the president's vision of peace."
Administration officials refused comment on reports of Christmas baskets including smoked turkey and assorted cheeses addressed to the Bin Ladin Company's regional office in Quetta.
But wait a minute - why are Israeli utility companies selling services to the PLO?
"Let Israel take care of business."
Are we stopping them?
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