Smart Palestinians desperate to move beyond Arafat

■"After Arafat, Opportunity? Some Palestinians Hope Moment Brings Reshaping of Governance," by Farnaz Fassihi, Wall Street Journal, 24 November 2004, p. A11.

Hereís a realistic judgment on Arafat: ìHe was the guardian of our national cause but could not understand the modern concept of governance.î So says a long-time legal reform advocate living in the West Bank, where ìPalestinian courts donít repreent or uphold the law, and are procedurally sloppy and filled with corrupt judges.î:

Others pursuing change are focusing their energies on education, health care, police and security measures, and gaining control of Palestinian finances. They accuse Mr. Arafatís tight circle of advisersófor the more part founders of the Fatah movement and exiles who moved here with himóor corruption and cronyism. These failings bear part of the blame, they say, for a shriveled economy and the fact that more than half the Palestinian residents of Gaza and the West Bank live in poverty and nearly half are without jobs.

The rest of the blame obviously goes to the negative security situation with Israel, whereóof courseóone might argue Arafatís legacy was all the worse. But the connections between the internal rot and the external insecurity are striking more and more Palestinians as real:

Those pursuing a new order are hoping to find representatives who will tackle the two main questions facing the Palestinian people: how to have peace with Israel and how to build a new country. ìI think democracy is a precondition to peace. No agreement will be respected if it doesnít come from the people; otherwise we have to oppress our population to reach a deal,î says Mustapha Barghouthi, a member of the National Board of Reform . . .

What Palestinians need is a reformist interim leader who starts both processes and then turns them over to a respected leader of the post-founders generation. As with almost all revolutionary movements, the founders tend to make bad political leadersói.e., they can lead in war but not in peace. George Washington was that rarest of leaders, and weíre the country we are today thanks in no small measure to that fact. People forget that Washington was only a so-so general, but an amazingly foresighted president.