Today’s Wall Street Journal has a long and important front-page, Column 1 article entitled “Dangerous Territory — With Aid, U.S. Widens Role In Palestinian Crisis.”  The article begins as follows:

In a move fraught with risk and historical ironies, the Bush administration is preparing to pour $86 million into strengthening security forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. . . .

Critics say that Mr. Abbas’s Fatah party is hardly a reliable ally. . . . Some analysts worry the new effort could backfire on the U.S., inflaming Palestinian strife and supplying guns that could be turned against Israel some day.

"I think we are playing with fire," says Robert Malley, Middle East director for the International Crisis Group . . . .

The security program, which would provide more than the combined total of all money the U.S. has given to the Palestinian Authority since its formation in 1994, was detailed recently in classified briefings for Congress by a U.S. general who now serves as an adviser to Mr. Abbas, the primary U.S. ally in the Palestinian territories.

The initiative precedes a weeklong swing through the Middle East by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, which kicks off in Jerusalem tomorrow. In exchange for support countering Iran across the region, Ms. Rice and the White House are promising Arab regimes political progress for the Palestinians in their attempts to establish a state next to Israel.

Today’s Jerusalem Post has an article that reports on a major speech yesterday by Mahmoud “Primary U.S. Ally” Abbas:

Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday called on Palestinians to refrain from internal fighting and to direct their guns only against Israeli "occupation."

Abbas, speaking during a rally marking the 42nd anniversary of the founding of his Fatah party, told thousands of supporters that the Palestinian struggle would continue until the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital. [So much for Phase I of the road map, which calls for dismantling the Palestinian terrorist infrastructure as a first-step Palestinian obligation – JCI]. 

He also expressed opposition to the idea of establishing a Palestinian state with temporary borders. [So much for Phase II of the road map, which calls for a state with provisional borders before negotiating final status issues — JCI].

"The issue of the refugees is non-negotiable," Abbas said. [So much for Phase III of the road map, which calls for negotiating that issue – JCI].  

I’m sure Abbas will be much more reasonable once he has $86 million in guns.  The Jerusalem Post article ends as follows:

In an unrelated development, Fatah gunmen announced Thursday that the main square in the Jenin refugee camp has been named after former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein. Zakariya Zubeidi, the local commander of Fatah’s armed wing, Aksa Martyrs Brigades, said the decision was taken in honor of Saddam’s support for the Palestinians over the past 25 years.

With $86 million, there will be no shortage of guns to shoot in the air at the naming ceremony.