Hamas Stimulus Plan
US plans $900 million for bomb-flattened Gaza. No worries, it won’t go to Hamas. It’s going to the UN! via Yahoo:
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States plans to offer more than $900 million to help rebuild Gaza after Israel’s invasion and to strengthen the Western-backed Palestinian Authority, U.S. officials said on Monday.
The money, which needs U.S. congressional approval, will be distributed through U.N. and other bodies and not via the militant group Hamas, which rules Gaza, said one official.
“This money is for Gaza and to help strengthen the Palestinian Authority. It is not going to go to Hamas,” said the official, who asked not to be named as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton planned to announce the funding at a donors’ conference in Egypt next week.
I wouldn’t want my name attached to that stinker of a trial balloon, either. Looks like “why do they hate us” reparations. So, was Hillary not paying attention to the extensive use of UN facilities as Hamas firing positions?
Clinton’s bid to get “substantial” funds could face an uphill battle in Congress because Hamas continues to rule Gaza and the U.S. focus is on its own souring economy.
Congress is likely to be highly concerned about unemployment issues … its own, if it starts shoveling $$$ to Hamas via the UN. But let’s not be hasty. There’s lipstick on that pig.
Part of the goal of the new funding is to boost the Palestinian Authority of President Mahmoud Abbas, which controls the occupied West Bank.
The United States wants Abbas’s PA to play a central role in the reconstruction effort in Gaza, hoping this will increase its influence in the Hamas stronghold. Washington is also putting pressure on other donors to bolster Abbas.
“We call on donor countries to focus their pledges to meet the Palestinian Authority’s priorities, including budget support, and on projects that can be funded through the Palestinian Authority and other existing, trusted mechanisms,” said a State Department official.
Well, if that’s what they wanted, Obama should have got on the phone with Olmert last month and said, “Don’t stop.” At last check, Hamas was executing the Fatah members and other suspected Zionist colIsraeli collaborators it hadn’t already tossed off rooftops.
OK, here’s my suggestion. Obama admin and Congress can have their cake and eat it, too. Take the $900 million Hamas rearming money, call it “Blighted Urban Sandlot Beautification,” something like that, and shove it between the “Tattoo Removal Violence Prevention Program” and “National Council of La Raza” in the latest $410 billion spending bill, where no one will notice it. It’s shovel ready!
Legislative acrobatics may be unnecessary, however. After all, we’re living in a post-9/11 era, and have moved beyond associating Islamic extremism with terrorism.
Threatswatch: How about some GWOT stimulus? Boucoup bucks for Gaza while Pak ops get shortfunded. Schippert elaborates at the Tank on the Cognitive Dissonance.
Welcome, Powerline, etal, always so good to see you. If you like the idea of a Hamas Stimulus Plan, you’ll love Too Tough On Crime … a Massachusetts judicial nominee gets grilled about his shocking philosophy of protecting the public from criminals.
Topics: Obama, Palestinians, UN, terrorists
Posted by Jules Crittenden at 8:54 am on Tuesday, February 24, 2009
6 Responses to “Hamas Stimulus Plan”
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February 24th, 2009 at 9:21 am
Dammit! With more and more Americans losing their jobs, their homes, their cars, WHAT IN THE WORLD IS al-CHICAGO DOING SENDING MONEY TO HAMAS?
If the country has that much money to give away, give it to Americans not some camel flea infested rodent turds.
February 24th, 2009 at 12:00 pm
[...] Jules Crittenden » Hamas Stimulus Plan [...]
February 24th, 2009 at 4:54 pm
Why does cONGRESS hate us? All we ever did was try to help them by giving them money.
…Wait…we didn’t actually give it to them. I vaguely remember them taking it, but they still shouldn’t hate us like they do.
February 24th, 2009 at 7:16 pm
The whole of Gaza isn’t worth $9, let alone $900 million. Pour that money into Gaza (and if they’re giving it to the UN, they might as well save the postage and give it directly to Hamas), and in a year, it’ll still be the same craphole it’s always been.
February 25th, 2009 at 2:37 pm
I consider this $900 million to be pork, so there’s a slim chance that Hamas will reject it on religious grounds.
A very slim chance, I know. Hamas has a lot of crazies, but not so many stupid people.
February 25th, 2009 at 8:11 pm
“Hamas has a lot of crazies, but not so many stupid people.”
I disagree; the problem is that many of the latter are only recognised officially after they ’shuffle from this mortal coil’.
Cheers