What did I say?

I wrote back on April 11th about Palestian thugs giving up their guns, but only if the government gives them jobs. I asked how the Palestinian government would get the money, immediately answering with the obvious: foreign aid.

And guess what happened recently? (I've been meaning to blog about this but it slipped my mind.)

Bush pledges $50 million in aid for Palestinians

President Bush pledged $50 million in aid for the Palestinians on Thursday and gave an unusually tough message to Israel to halt settlement expansion and other steps that could block a final peace deal....

Bush's announcement of U.S. direct aid for Gaza Strip projects was a sign of confidence in Abbas, who has sought money to be channeled directly to the Palestinian Authority instead of through third parties.

U.S. officials said the $50 million will go into a special account the Palestinian Finance Ministry can access with agreement from the United States for housing, roads, schools and health clinics. It will come from previously budgeted, but unspent, money.

Palestinian Finance Minister Salam Fayyad called the commitment "an important sign of confidence in our ability to manage in a transparent and fully accountable manner."

A senior Bush administration official said if a year from now "we can show that the money is ... accounted for and being used properly for construction projects," then the U.S. Congress might approve more.

Al Capone and other "classical" gangsters couldn't have come up with a better extortion scheme. "Abbas, we'll turn in our guns. Give us jobs in exchange. The Palestinian Authority is broke, you say? That does not matter. You can get money from the Americans."

There's nothing wrong with charitable relief efforts, but it is properly done by private individuals. As Walter Williams said, the money is not government's to give. The reason is not just moral, but practical: if Americans gave the money privately, we'd do everything possible to make sure it stays out of the Palestianian criminals' hands. President Bush and Congress, on the other hand, have an extremely foolish and downright stupid trust of Abbas and his government.

Bush and Congress also have an extremely ignorant view of the U.S. Constitution if they believe it entitles them to distribute tax money for charitable purposes, let alone to foreign powers. In this case, we're not giving "aid" to Palestinians, but a big check to their corrupt government. Arafat is now earthworm food (and I hope his eternal fate is far worse, as he deserves), but his legacy of corruption and evil continues as strong as ever.