Washington announced that it would be sending aid to the Palestinian Authority's President Mahnoud Abbas. The package includes $190 million to be sent immediately to Abbas and his Fatah party's stronghold in the West Bank. Another $80 million will be allocated to fund a security force in the West Bank. He also called for an international meeting in September to discuss the future of an independent Palestinian state.
My problem is this:
1) Bush wants the United States and the rest of the world to only recognize the Abbas-led Fatah party in the West Bank.
2) Bush wants to eliminate the leadership the people of Palestine elected (Hamas)
3) Bush wants to do this without sitting down at the table to discuss Palestine's future with both political parties that govern the P.A.
Now I understand that Hamas has had a bad history, but many other idealist, militants, and terrorists that have an agenda have come to the light and sought peaceful solutions through political measures.
One group led by Nobel Peace prize winner, Yasser Arafat, the PLO (Palestinian Liberation Organization) used to be on the U.S. terrorist list. The terrorist movement evolved into a political party backed by the Fatah. Yasser Arafat signed a monumental peace accord with Israel in 1993. Israel was supposed to release the West Bank and the Gaza strip to the newly elected president of the Palestinian Authority five years later. This still hasn't been done after nine years.
Another group that used to have extreme views on how to react to government and religious situations was the IRA (Irish Republic Army). For years the IRA and the British government in Northern Ireland were at war. Then in 2005, the IRA indicated that its war was over and the republican movement is now exclusively committed to democratic politics. Their political wing known as Sinn Fein won many seats in the Northern Ireland parliament and also in the Ireland parliament.
There are many ways to find peace when all sides take a seat at the table and talk it out.
Because President Bush didn't like the outcome of elections he pushed for, he is going against the democratic process he sought. Just like when he declared war with Iraq and demonstrated to the world that the U.S. policy on a conflict is the only way. Now I don't condone Saddam and his demented mind, but take control over the situation or don't get involved. We as a global community should come together, not just push the U.S. stance on everything.
Start listening to the citizens of the dilemmas here and aboard.
What is wrong with this picture? The current issue is that the controlled regions of Palestine are under two separate parties' leadership (Hamas in the Gaza strip and Fatah in the West Bank). To only fund Abbas and the Fatah party and exclude Hamas is not going to lead to anything but war. So Washington plans to support Abbas and his military strength for an assault on the Gaza strip. That's the only conclusion drawn for what the president of the free world said in his address.
There comes a time when different ideas shared by many people should be heard. Everyone in the world was raised and instilled with different values. To not leave room for these values to evolve and be enlightened on a new front is ignorant. Some people change and some don't, but if the governments don't listen, life on our planet will never progress to peaceful solutions.
I hope that when the September meetings on Palestine are in progress that all sides will be heard. Invite the collective of leaders from Palestine, not just those who bows down before the Bush Administration.
