In her first Middle East visit as secretary of state, Hillary Rodham Clinton called the establishment of a Palestinian state "inescapable," and labeled as "unhelpful" Israel's planned demolition of illegal Arab Palestinian construction, closing of border crossings to a terrorist entity and expanding construction in land acquired through a defensive

The Abbas-Haniyeh hydra will continue on the path of terrorism.

war. In what was termed a "new path," the Clinton team sent diplomats to renew a courtship with the tyrannical Bashar Assad's Syria, and suggested that there should be a "unity" Palestinian government - which means a merger of the terrorist Hamas regime with the more moderate terrorists of Fatah.

But words like "inescapable" and "unhelpful", when applied to dangerous ideas and realistic responses to terrorism, are themselves unhelpful.

Is now really the time to underscore to the Palestinians that their leadership has achieved what at least some see as their ultimate goal - statehood - without the renunciation of terrorism? Is the stewardship of Fatah under Mahmoud Abbas - or even more grotesquely, under Ismail Haniyeh and the leadership of Hamas - deserving of approbation rather than opprobrium?

What should be inescapably obvious is that the Abbas-Haniyeh hydra will continue on the path of terrorism. Yet, the single attainable goal that Clinton voiced was that there should be a Palestinian state. So much for carrots and sticks; Clinton already gave away the farm.

In the extreme sport of throwing money at the Palestinians, the current US administration is going for the gold. At the Sharm el-Sheikh global "aid-apalooza" on March 2, Clinton pledged $900 million to rebuild the Hamas infrastructure in Gaza and boost the Fatah economy.

The official party line about the $900 million was that the "money was not being channeled through Hamas," according to State Department spokesman Robert Wood. But a senior State Department official acknowledged that "everyone" knows that "having a unified authority for the Palestinians" would be "a positive step toward statehood."

Israel's planned expansion of residential housing in disputed sections of Israel was called "unhelpful" to the peace process, while Israel 's plans to demolish Arab buildings illegally constructed in disputed sections of Jerusalem earned a tongue-lashing from Clinton. The Arab residents of those homes utilized every level of the Israeli judicial process to block the demolitions. It was determined that the Arabs' homes were built illegally. That was far more process than was given to the thousands of Israeli residents of Gaza whose homes (built with full Israeli authority) and lives were demolished so the Arab residents could have free reign throughout the territory.

Clinton also denounced Israel's restricted passage of humanitarian aid into Gaza. Israel was faulted for closures of its borders to the terrorist regime next door. Hamas has a more liberal border policy - allowing any Palestinian to export mortars and increasingly sophisticated rockets over its border and into Israel. The US administration chastised Hamas for failing to curb the enthusiastic export from Gaza, yet it is Israel's border policy that is being hammered in the diplomatic arena.

The plan to revive a "Syria track" of diplomacy is au courant. Clinton sent deputies to begin the process of re-establishing relations with Syria. Following their meetings, the two US envoys said that "Syria can play an important and constructive role in the region."

Yes, they are talking about the same Syria in which, despite years of Syrian protest to the contrary, tests by the UN International Atomic Energy Agency revealed traces of enriched uranium, evidence of covert nuclear activity.

Yes, the same Syria that America designated a foreign terrorist organization for hosting and supporting the

The plan to revive a "Syria track" of diplomacy is au courant.

regimes of Hamas and Hizbullah.

Yes, the same Syria that attended Iran's alternative to the Gaza aid fair, which opened with Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's statement that "resistance" against Israel, a "cancerous tumor," is the only way to save Palestinians.

Most of Clinton 's efforts merely repeat the fruitless steps taken by the Bush administration, except for the outreach to Syria, in which President Bush refused to engage. This courtship is intended to woo Syria away from its current puppeteer, the ultimate evil empire - Iran. But even this effort is a retread of an idea from another Republican: Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter. For decades, his snarled response to queries about his playing footsy (and squash) with terrorist-abetting Syria was this mantra: "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer."

Well, some of those enemies you are holding close just might be drawing a bullseye on your back.