Foggy-Bottom Do’s

In direct violation of stringent, federal government law, The United States Department of State, Office of International Development (USAID) just keeps on blithely funding the Palestinian Authority’s,Congressional arm-twisting department: the Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs (PASSIA).

They do this on orders that came directly from the Clinton White House, there by by-passing Congress, despite the U.S. federal law that reads: USAID money cannot be used for lobbying the U.S. Congress in any form”.

They do this in-spite, or more accurately, because the U.S. Congress is unaware that they do, and they do it by claiming, in a 9/4/02 State Dept. memo that:

“PASSIA is a non-profit organization research institution that focuses on issues of democracy, good governance, rule of law, reform and communication among religious groups in Jerusalem.”

USAID goes on to say that:

“It (PASSIA) is not affiliated with any government.

Which is of course a lie since the Palestinian Authority is “the duly elected government” of the Palestinian People”. This means that while the Administration is fighting a war on international terror, the State Department is pouring millions of dollars, hand-over-fist, directly into the coffers of Yassar Arafat.

USAID’s initial funding, we are told, was to:focus on training, mid-career professionals drawn from Palestinian civil society organizations to advocate and lobby in the Palestinian domestic context in a generic sense.”

The second federal largess (1.4million, given quarterly and only after the previous quarter’s worth has been used in full, came in January, 2002, just four months into their second intifada.

It is at this point in the memo, that the claim is made that they, (the Palestinian Authority) is ecumenical” and that these unaccounted for US taxpayers dollars are being spent for: ” generic”, local, PA community use only.

Which would be fine, except that Michigan, Kentucky, California and Ohio are not located in either Gaza or the West Bank. They are American states, who’s State Department is funding what is at best, their manipulation…

Until now, USAID got away with it, because this Clinton policy holdover goes directly into their, appropriations fund, thereby avoiding the process of congressional oversight authority, while at the same time, circumventing the law these public servants are sworn to uphold. The official State Department reasoning behind this secret practice of governmental hostage taking, reads like this:

” In the case of PASSIA, our funding of the series does not free PASSIA funding up for other activities…Our funding does not mean they have funds freed-up for some other activity or line purpose.” And so goes this line of appeasement/encouragement reasoning: “If we did not fund this activity, PASSIA would not conduct it or they would seek funding from another mainstream donor.” One might ask here, if that isn’t exactly the point. One might also ask if there was even the hint of Foggy-Bottom embarrassment at such flagrantly violationist behavior? Not so much as a hint:

“On the contrary,…USAID feels well-positioned…because we are proud of the example of democracy and good governance embodied with the American system. We are a good example”

It is here that the current occupants of the Department of State might be reminded that nowhere in American history, did the US government condone, let alone engage in the practice of blowing up babies out of their carriages, or their grandmothers in the act of feeding them.

This USAID admission comes only after evading the question first put to them over a year ago by David Bedein, bureau chief of Israel News Resource Agency, (IRNA). The funding, according to the memo, began in March 31, 1997, on orders directly from the Clinton Oval Office.

The booklets PASSIA produces in conjunction with their twelve-week training courses in lobbying, media manipulation and “good governance”, thanks just the USAID on their flyleaves (should anyone on ‘oversight’ have ever cared to look) but the USAID does not act.

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