Israel Matzav

The American 'national interest' in UNRWA

You might recall that last week, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt) argued that funding UNRWA and not differentiating among the five million 'refugees' it supports is an American national interest. Leahy went on to accuse those who believe otherwise of dual loyalty. Daniel Greenfield might make Leahy want to rethink his position if anyone in Vermont is listening.

“I always look at what is in the United States’ interest first and foremost, and this would hurt the United States’ interests,” Senator Leahy stated firmly. It is of course difficult to find as compelling a national interest as the UNRWA, a refugee agency created exclusively for the benefit of five million Arabs, approximately 30,000 of whom are actual refugees, but all of whom hate the United States.

Senator Leahy, who could not discover a national interest in the Balanced Budget Amendment, drilling for oil in ANWR or detaining Muslim terrorists, all of which he voted against; finally discovered a binding national interest 5,500 miles away in Jordan, where “refugee camps” like Baqa’a (pop. 80,000), which are virtually indistinguishable from local towns and cities, complete with block after block of residential homes, stores and markets, multi-story office buildings, schools, hospitals and assorted infrastructure, must not be looked at too closely.

As a city which will soon celebrate its 50 year anniversary, Baqa’a is older than many modern Israeli cities and is as much a refugee camp as any of them. The only difference between Baqa’a and Ariel, is that no one in Baqa’a does anything for themselves because they are all eternal refugees with an entire UN agency dedicated to wiping their bottoms for them. A unique and singular honor in a world full of authentic refugees who have been driven out by rape squads and genocide, without getting their own minders in blue.

Samuel Johnson said that “Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel,” but even Johnson would have had trouble understanding how a refusal to count who American aid money is going to is in the nation’s best interests. It is no doubt in the best interests of the denizens of Baqa’a and their Jordanian rulers, who need to spend that much less money taking care of their people, but ignorance certainly doesn’t do the United States and its interests any good. A refusal to seriously examine the books does, however, benefit the UNRWA and politicians like Leahy who continue to support this boondoggle.

Read the whole thing.

Labels: Israel firsters, Mark Kirk, Palestinian refugees, Patrick Leahy, UNRWA

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 10:02 AM