Bush administration hypocrisy
Reuters reports today that the State Department has asked the Palestinian Authority to return $50 million dollars it has received from the U.S. While I am always suspicious of political parties that have armies, the move is dripping with hypocrisy. The Bush administration pushed hard for the Palestinian elections and therefore, to request that aid money is returned when the political party won whom the administration opposed seems to be blatantly inconsistent. Never mind the $2 million in aid given right before the vote (for projects that would have reflected well on Fatah, but likely backfired and ended up benefitting Hamas), an administration that sees democracy as the answer to everything should not make aid conditional on the 'right' outcome. Thomas Friedman's op-ed (sub. rqd) today in the NY Times makes a valid point:
This is an important lesson for the Bush administration if it sees (incorrectly in my view) democracy as the solution to terrorism and anti-Americanism. Democracy alone will not bring economic stability or political stability. In fact, as we are seeing in Iraq, it may lead to chaos. That is not to say that the U.S. should be supporting tyrants like Saddam Hussein, Hosni Mubarak (head of Egypt) or the Saudi Royal family. It is important, though, to realize the potential instability if democracy is pushed forward too fast without any underlying institutions. In countries such as Egypt, which had partially-free elections last year, the Muslim Brotherhood had a strong showing despite the restrictions placed on how well it could do. However, in comparison with the other opposition parties, there was no question about which party won. This is because, for one reason or another, the religious parties have been more successful at organizing and recruiting and avoiding the restrictions placed on opposition parties in countries like Egypt. Therefore, any 'big bang' move towards democracy in Egypt will see a victory by the Muslim Brotherhood, and will be counter to what Bush predicted in his inaugural address that democracy will moderate religious political power. This is the failure of Bush's 'democracy' agenda and the failure is inherent in the policy and has been since the beginning.
If Hamas is going to fail now in leading the Palestinian Authority, it is crucial that it be seen to fail on its own — because it can't transform itself from a terror group into a ruling body delivering peace, security and good government for Palestinians — not because Israel and the U.S. never gave it a chance.
"Any minute that it is evident to the Palestinian public that Hamas is being forced to fail will guarantee that any future elections will only produce another Hamas victory," said the Palestinian pollster Khalil Shikaki.
This is an important lesson for the Bush administration if it sees (incorrectly in my view) democracy as the solution to terrorism and anti-Americanism. Democracy alone will not bring economic stability or political stability. In fact, as we are seeing in Iraq, it may lead to chaos. That is not to say that the U.S. should be supporting tyrants like Saddam Hussein, Hosni Mubarak (head of Egypt) or the Saudi Royal family. It is important, though, to realize the potential instability if democracy is pushed forward too fast without any underlying institutions. In countries such as Egypt, which had partially-free elections last year, the Muslim Brotherhood had a strong showing despite the restrictions placed on how well it could do. However, in comparison with the other opposition parties, there was no question about which party won. This is because, for one reason or another, the religious parties have been more successful at organizing and recruiting and avoiding the restrictions placed on opposition parties in countries like Egypt. Therefore, any 'big bang' move towards democracy in Egypt will see a victory by the Muslim Brotherhood, and will be counter to what Bush predicted in his inaugural address that democracy will moderate religious political power. This is the failure of Bush's 'democracy' agenda and the failure is inherent in the policy and has been since the beginning.
posted by Biafra27 at 12:23 PM
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