The Paradox

The middle east is a funny place. There are many places on earth that seem devoid of pragmatism and logic (including our own White House), but nowhere more so than the middle east.

About a month ago, the Palestinians elected Hamas as the majority party in the Palestinian Legislature. Most opinion polls show that the people were tired of the lack of progress on anything under the leadership of the Fatah party – whether it is the peace process, economy, anti-corruption, personal safety, or education. Hamas was the alternative they chose.

You would think that Fatah, a party that has dominated Palestinian politics since the 1960s, would have some sort of reaction to an historic loss. A shake-up at the top? Bring in new blood? The party breaking apart into factions? Nope, none of that has happened yet.

However, Hamas has two major issues. First, they’ve never governed anything other than a terroristic insurgency against Israel and a small social services network. It’s a far cry from governing a pseudo-nation. Second, their platform – unchanged to this day – does not recognize Israel’s right to exist. They’ve put all sorts of semantics around it (long-term truce), but for all intents and purposes, they will not recognize Israel’s right to exist.

So, the western nations (US and the EU) have a problem. The Bush Administration has pushed democracy as the cure for all of the mideast’s ills. As usual, they miscalculated. And now, the western nations are faced with a choice of whether to support, in any fashion, the soon-to-be-installed Hamas government. This includes economic support for the impoverished Palestinian people. Direct support to the Palestinian Authority would result in some of that money being used to kill Israelis. As James Baker astutely noted, all money is fungible.

Meanwhile, the Palestinians are screaming about how they’ll all starve without these western funds. Now, did they really think there were no consequences to their actions? Are they that stupid? You elect a bunch of terrorists who are sworn to eradicate a country that’s not only a UN member, but a close ally of the US and most EU nations and you still want support on that???

But there’s more. Most of the PA’s budget comes from western sources. Most of the Arab countries who do not recognize Israel do so because, so they say, of their solidarity with their Palestinian brethren. Yet, will all the oil riches of the Arab states, it is the west that is left to support the Palestinians.

So, how about this: either the Arabs recognize Israel en masse, or start sending money themselves to their beloved Palestinians? That would remove a paradox. Of course, neither will happen, as its not in the best interests of the despotic regimes who rule most of the Arab countries.

So where exactly has this democratization led us to? Civil war in Iraq and terrorists running the PA. You got to love the stability.

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