[Reuters] Adam Entous - The U.S. has quietly started a campaign, costing up to $42 million, to bolster Hamas' political opponents ahead of possible early Palestinian elections. The plan to promote alternatives to Hamas includes funding to help restructure Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah group and provide training and strategic advice to politicians and secular parties opposed to Hamas Islamists. "This project supports (the) objective to create democratic alternatives to authoritarian or radical Islamist political options," said one official U.S. document. Documents refer repeatedly to new programs that began in recent weeks.
2006-10-16 01:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive