Once a great power decides to invade another country it makes sure to find someone who will be able to lead the country occupied later. Not only new [singlepic id=164 w=320 h=240 float=right] occupied countries but also newly formed states could face such external effect in deciding who will become the leader.
In its war in Iraq and Afghanistan the United States did not succeed in preparing the countries for the after war period. The American intelligence and political teams thought that the Iraqi opposition which has been outside Iraq since tens of years will succeed in controlling the country after a complete American occupation which was supposed to be ended shortly after the Iraqis take the lead.

Although many tried to say that without someone from the former Baath party the new Iraqi leadership will not succeed, Bush administration did not give any importance to this point. The same mistake was made in Afghanistan; Karazi failed to control the country and drowned in corruption.

Former Bush administration made the same mistake when it insisted that former Palestinian President Yasser Arafat is not qualified to be a real peace partner and demanded for a new Prime minister that fits the American standards. Today the Palestinian authority is facing similar threats of division and external involvement which is far away from any kind of democracy. The European Union and the United States put certain conditions such as employing specific people in sensitive ranks to allow the financial support which is given to the Palestinian authorities to keep its associations alive.

The Palestinian Parliament is not active since the division between Hamas and Fatah. The Palestinian president powers are limited, the security forces are not really united under the President’s orders, and the Prime Minister is working too many things together. Nothing stated in the Palestinian basic law is really applied while Gaza and the West Bank became two separated bodies working in different ways.

The real main reason which caused the division between the two main parties is the conditions which the United States and the donors put in order to allow the continuity of the Palestinian authority. Such conditions and involvement in deciding the policy of any newly formed state can be usually found in third world countries and countries that rely on support from other states.

The issue of democracy and acceptance of the choice of the people themselves cannot be really applied until the state is formed. Democracy becomes a subject which rival parties begin to explain in their own ways to justify their actions. Even democratic countries are ready to turn a blind eye and forget about democratic norms to assure that their interests continue. Some try to justify this by saying that non democratic parties should not be given a chance to use the democratic system for their interest while others disagree with them by saying that accusing a certain party of not being democratic while turning a blind eye to the failure of implementing democratic norms is the worst kind of democracy leadership.

Lately media reports talked about a possible change in the American administration position from movements which are considered terrorist or unqualified for partnership. Last summer two American personalities Rob Malley and Tom Pickering met for informal talks with Mahmud Alzahar who is a well-known Hamas leader. Malley is a former advisor to the Clinton administration and Pickering is a former undersecretary of state.

Although the meeting was not formal it reminds us of former President Jimmy Carter visit to Syria before the improvement that the American Syrian relations witnessed. Although this could be a sign of a change in the United States understanding of the Middle East politics and need of joining everyone in any possible solution, the Palestinian situation is complicated; in such decisions Israel and the Palestinian leadership in Ramalla must also agree.

Whether it is really a change or not, the American administration must understand that any leader who does not come from the people or represent their needs and demands will never succeed in controlling or leading them.

Ziad Khalil Abu Zayyad

A Palestinian-Arab living in East Jerusalem, Ziad graduated from College Des Freres in Jerusalem in 2003. Ziad finished his major in International Relations and English Literature from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Ziad is a former President of the Watan student movement at the university. He is interested in Middle Eastern political issues and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Founder of the Middle East Post and MEL (Middle East Future Leadership Network), he represents Palestinian youth at several international conferences.

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