Welcome Dr. Rice and Watch That $20 Million

We congratulate Dr. Condoleezza Rice on her nomination as Secretary of State and sincerely wish her well in a difficult task. Not only does she have to represent American government policy to foreign governments, she has to represent President Bush’s policy to the State Department. We hope one of her first duties will be to banish those who were responsible for an official American presence at Yasser Arafat’s funeral. Israeli sources report that top-level Iranians involved in anti-U.S. activity and international terror were talking to Palestinians at the funeral while U.S.

We congratulate Dr. Condoleezza Rice on her nomination as Secretary of State and sincerely wish her well in a difficult task. Not only does she have to represent American government policy to foreign governments, she has to represent President Bush’s policy to the State Department. We hope one of her first duties will be to banish those who were responsible for an official American presence at Yasser Arafat’s funeral. Israeli sources report that top-level Iranians involved in anti-U.S. activity and international terror were talking to Palestinians at the funeral while U.S. envoy William Burns was standing there. We’re not surprised that they used the opportunity to discuss mischief. Whose bright idea was it to send President Bush’s “respects” in any event – President Bush had already made it clear enough that he didn’t respect Arafat.

Dr. Rice could do the President a further service by promising to work with Congress to protect the transparency of the $20 million Colin Powell is planning to deliver to the PA as he exits the government.

Twenty million dollars is both a lot of money and a drop in the bucket. It is pennies toward the “creation of institutions that serve the needs of the Palestinian people,” which President Bush called for in his seminal speech of June 24, 2002. To really help the people (and we’re being VERY generous here, because the demonstration of wanton violence and naked hatred during Arafat’s burial gives us serious pause about wanting to do anything for those people) would take all the billions Arafat stole and Suha spent. It would also take a redirection of money away from 12 security services, preachers as paid fomenters of violence and a wholesale purge of the Palestinian media, school system and UNRWA. THEN, we could talk about helping the Palestinian people (such as they are).

But $20 million is a lot of money in the hands of a corrupt autocracy. It can buy a lot of loyalty from nasty people and a lot of “looking the other way” by Egyptian border guards standing near smuggling tunnels in Gaza. It can buy suicide bomb belts for the Al Aksa Martyrs Brigades and further improve the missiles being built in Gaza. Or, it can buy just enough influence for the old cronies of the deceased dictator to win the bizarre PA “elections” scheduled for January. In the last case, we will have perpetuated the kleptocracy that has demeaned, impoverished and radicalized the people we thought it was going to help.

JINSA’s first official meeting with Colin Powell was in late 1988, when he was NSC Advisor to President Reagan during the lame duck period. It was just us and him and he told us that he was going to open the official U.S.-PLO dialogue before he left the President’s service – ostensibly so President Bush (41) wouldn’t face the political fallout of doing it. We asked, “Why do it at all?” He replied that every group needed an official avenue to be heard. We demurred. “You already know what they say, and they’re terrorists.” He repeated that it was necessary and gave it to them as a parting gift.

Much as he is planning to bestow $20 million on unreformed and unrepentant terrorists as he leaves the service of this President. Congress should take a close look at this during Dr. Rice’s confirmation hearings.