So much for that $1.9 million

The United States spent about $1.9 million on dozens of quick projects aimed at boosting the Fatah party’s image before this week’s Palestinian elections, The New York Times reported. Didn’t work; Hamas cleaned up at the polls. Perhaps that was because, in addition to its despicable terrorist actions, Hamas has gained public loyalty over the years by helping fund social-service projects that the corrupt Fatah government ignored. And a rush of last-minute public relations projects wasn’t enough to overcome years of governmental neglect and incompetence.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee

5 Comments

  1. Sum1
    Posted January 28, 2006 at 6:14 am | Permalink

    If anything we doomed the Fatah party with our 1.9 mil.

  2. Joe Williams
    Posted January 28, 2006 at 6:35 am | Permalink

    Ah! That’s nothing. Look how many millions of dollars the Democrats and its supporters spent on Howard Dean and John Kerry. They didn’t win. ;) (poking a bit of fun)

    You know, although Hamas is considered a terrorist organization and at the moment I don’t trust them to go the peace route, but we also don’t know.

    If Hamas suddenly becomes peaceful and actually makes progress in building Palestine, this would be a wonderful triumph. It could show other terrorist organizations that laying down arms and voting in a democracy is the best way to redress grievences and to forward your policies. Could lead to peace. Never know!

  3. J M Walker
    Posted January 28, 2006 at 7:10 am | Permalink

    Another round in the foot of American involvement in foreign politics. Didn’t we learn anything in South America?

  4. Ben Huie
    Posted January 28, 2006 at 8:32 am | Permalink

    We supported the terrorist Stern Gang and continue to support its successor entities including those who rule Hebron. There is no reason that we cannot treat Hamas as well as we do the Stern Gang.

    As for Hamas victory a lot of that can be tracked to the corruption of Fatah. In cities where Hamas has had PARTIAL rule conditions are better than those where Fatah has had PARTIAL rule. Conditions are still bad due to the REAL rulers of those cities but Hamas has proven better at providing help to the residents than has Fatah. Perhaps this is due to the fact that Fatah has been too cozy with those REAL rulers.

    When we think of Moses confronting Pharoah do we picture him saying “give my people more crumbs” or do we picture him saying “let my people go!” Fatah has been the former; hamas the latter in regards to the rulers of the palestinian people.

  5. flike
    Posted January 28, 2006 at 9:02 am | Permalink

    Hamas provides yet another example of the power that government, determined to serve voters rather than self-service, can garner. For example, I suspect the riot of Fatah-supporters is due to missed paychecks of one sort or another.

    It’s a lesson the GOP would do well to learn, imo. For an example, see the Abramoff scandal.

    Nice analysis, Ben.