"Our Man in Palestine," Nathan Thrall

This is an extremely comprehensive investigation of Fayyadism and the PA-Israeli-American security cooperation in the West Bank. Thrall shows us the good, the bad, and the ugly, with an extra dose of the ugly.
Still digesting it, and wondering whether I agree with what seems to be his conclusion.

"Our Man in Palestine," Nathan Thrall. New York Review of Books. October 14, 2010.

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Hamas and Fatah at war with each other

This is just really sad.

With each incident, the wedge is hammered deeper and the hostility grows between the two halves of what is meant to be a future Palestine, just as the U.S. relaunches Mideast talks at the White House this week in hopes of getting an agreement within a year.

The talks aim to create a Palestinian state, but it appears unlikely any deal could be implemented as long as the split persists, particularly if Hamas - shunned by Israel and the West as a terror organization - remains in charge in Gaza.

In the West Bank, touted by the international community as the cradle of a democratic Palestine, rights violations committed in the name of protecting that vision could end up destroying it, rights activists say.

"Palestinian rivals crack down harder on opponents," Karin Laub and Diaa Hadid/The Associated Press. Washington Post. August 29, 2010

Throwing cold water on Thomas Friedman's glowing reports from Fayyad HQ

"A little rain on the Palestinian parade," Nathan Brown. Foreign Policy. July 1, 2010.

Nathan Brown, a professor of political science and international affairs at George Washington University, and fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, argues that reports of the scale and success of Fayyad's "state-building program" are greatly overstated.

I, for one, would be happy if Thomas Friedman, Hussein Ibish, and other Fayyad promoters were right in their assessment of the Palestinian Authority's Prime Minister.  For the PA to make headway in establishing rule of law and other basic functions of governance would represent a rare "postive-sum" gain in the region.  It may even be rhetorically prudent to play up Fayyad's success, at least in some quarters. Surely, it would be better for everyone involved if those who claim to support the Palestinians were to put their energies into the kind of work Fayyad is said to be doing, instead of the counterproductive and hateful anti-Israel mobilization that seems to dominate their agenda. 

However, there are also dangers in putting too much stock in Fayyad's efforts. In particular, as Brown suggests, hyping Fayyadism can make one discount the importance of the diplomatic plane, and generally to reduce the political to the economic. 


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