More fantasy-based policymaking. By Deb Riechmann for Associated Press (thanks to WriterMom):
WASHINGTON – President Bush is set to announce new aid to help the embattled Palestinian president create a viable state that can co-exist with Israel, administration officials said yesterday.
“The president sees there is an opportunity there now to show the Palestinian people a choice between the kind of violence and chaos under Hamas in Gaza and the prospect … for an effective, democratic Palestinian state,” said national security adviser Stephen Hadley.
Taking on a more personal, high-profile role in the conflict, Bush planned to speak today at the White House about U.S. financial and diplomatic support for President Mahmoud Abbas. He controls just the West Bank after the Islamic militant group Hamas gained authority in Gaza last month.
Hadley did not elaborate about the type of financial assistance Bush planned to discuss. But a senior administration official indicated the president would announce aid above the $86 million that the White House already has requested from Congress to help provide security for Abbas.
The administration also has said it would contribute $40 million to the United Nations to help the Palestinians, particularly in the Gaza Strip now controlled by Hamas.