Palestinians Pledge to Trade Guns for Jobs

[Colorado Blue]

By MOHAMMED DARAGHMEH, Associated Press Writers

RAMALLAH, West Bank - Hundreds of Palestinian gunmen have signed pledges to halt violence in exchange for government jobs, and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas hopes to bring many more militants on board before he meets President Bush in May, Palestinian officials said Monday.

The new jobs-for-guns program, which offers the biggest rewards to those who've spent the longest time in Israeli prisons or on the run from the military, is meant to counter Israeli and U.S. complaints that Abbas is doing little to control the armed groups.

The program is the most far-reaching step Abbas has taken so far to rein in militants, and fits in with his desire to control them through dialogue, rather than direct confrontations. The Palestinian leader has promised wide-ranging reform of the security services and recently fired the West Bank security commander, mentioned widely in corruption allegations.

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http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=post&forum=124


WHOA. :):):)

[Colorado Blue]

1. Whoops. Posted wrong link, here it is:

Subject: Whoops. Posted wrong link, here it is:

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=540&nci...

BTW, this is essentially, I believe, the same story the Drdon posted below, from the Jerusalem Times, but it has a litttle different POV - more optimistic, I think. So, I thought I'd put it up, maybe we need to think positively.

[drdon326]

2. Like I said.....

I've gotten my hopes up before with.....i'll believe it when i see it.

[Coastie for Truth]

3. A Palestinian "GI Bill/Marshal Plan/Reconstruction Finance Corp"

would go a long way - training Palestinians for actual jobs that need doing and would contribute to a Palestinian society and a self-sufficient Palestinian economy.

I am prejudiced as all hell on the GI Bill and the Reconstruction Finance Corp (with all of its fraud, waste, abuse, and bribery) -- had it not been for the GI Bill and the Reconstruction Finance Corp, the United States would have fallen back into the Great Depression after WW2.

I am prejudiced as all hell on the Marshal Plan. Had it not been for the Marshal Plan post WW2 Europe would have slowly drifted back into the "ISMS" that led to WW2.

I am not as prejudiced as John Bolton on UNRRWA. If UNRRWA had a mission to create jobs and build an economy it might help to bring peace and prosperity to the Palestinian People and the Palestinian State.

Trading AK47 marksmanship for JAVA and LINUX is the ONLY way to go. (I am using LINUX and JAVA as shorthand symbolism for anything peaceful, productive and of economic value)

[Colorado Blue]

4. I understand both points of view. On the one hand, one

could be forgiven for feeling, OK, so now the fox is getting a salary to guard the henhouse. YIKES.

But JOBS - jobs are so important for building this new country.

All we need to do is look backward, at the punitive actions against Germany after WWI, to understand the role poverty can play in radicalizing a population.

Hitler was seen, first, not as the Wagnerian monster he became, but as the bringer of prosperity and modernism to Germany. He used that popularity as a stepping stone to promote his darker agenda. But that darkness was already there, in the anger of the German people.

Was it always there? Some people say yes, there is violence inherent. But others say, it was the poverty and sense of humiliation suffered after WWI, and of course during the Depression, that tipped the balance and drove the German people into madness and war.

I think, calm and prosperity would do wonders to heal, not just the Palestinian situation, but so much of the Middle East. How many problems arise from a sense of insecurity combined with a lack of stable income, and a solid link to the modern world?