The Pariah of Palestine

President Bush, in a flash of brillance and an uncharacteristic show of courage and wit, acknowledged that the Palestinian people do have a right to elect whomever they choose. Up until the election results that surprised his Administration by giving an outright majority to the Hamas representatives, the Bush Administration was touting the "democratic" election in which he considered the Fatah Party, the only group with which the US would deal, the only legitimate candidate party. In other words, "you can have an election, as long as you choose who I want you to choose."

Now, faced with a result that he did not expect, and the handwriting plainly emblazoned on the wall, Bush is struggling to backtrack and rationalize. The Fatah Party at one time called for the destruction of israel, yet evolved to a leadership position that seeks to negotiate a peaceful accommodation and an independent palestinian state. Hamas has done more in recent years to provide social services to Palestinians and openly challenged the corruption in Fatah leadership. Now Hamas must take up the challenge to reconcile its harsh rhetoric with the pragmatic responsibilities of actual governance, if they wish to retain the political gains achievced in this election. To be sure, the process of building trust in the motives of the newly elected Palestinian representation will take effort and time. It is quite possible that the arrogant and caustic rhetoric and pronouncements of the Bush administration helped to tip the balance in favor of Hamas. Bush is seen as synonymous with arrogance and corruption, and his support of Fatah, in word and millions of dollars, may well have driven many Palestinians to give Hamas a chance to change things. The many factors are too complex to separate, but the result is a clear slap in the face of Bush's imperialist policies.

In light of these developments, we can only hope that the flicker of enlightenment will remain in those dim hallways between GWB's ears long enough to recognize that the best thing he can do with his mouth is to close it. Harsh and inflamatory rhetoric, threats of sanctions and denial of aid [money that has been given indiscriminately to Fatah and the PLO] will only make things worse. Why not just give democracy a chance. We all know that with rights come responsibilities; give Hamas leaders a chance to adjust to their newfound rights and responsibilities.

Perhaps, and this is optimistic at best, the Bush Administration will take note and learn from this experience as it relates to Iraq. If the United States is fighting to bring Democracy to the Iraqi people, then the choice of how and by whom they will be governed is THEIR choice, not Bush's choice. Unless this basic tenet of democracy is recognized, then the mission in Iraq must be exposed as a sham. The current approach by the Bush administration leans more toward colonialism than toward establishing a true democratically elected government of, by and for the Iraqi people.