How the $8 Billion Lost in Iraq Could Have Brought Peace to the Middle East

In his recent blog post regarding the West Bank's widely noted economic and security improvements and the prospects for Palestinian democracy, Andrew Sullivan ended by proposing to his readers: "Imagine what the $8 billion thrown into corrupt hands in Iraq could accomplish in Palestine." It's an exercise well worth undertaking, but it doesn't require a stretch of the imagination, just a click of the mouse. The Arc project for a Palestinian state -- which coincidentally was first reported in the New York Times by Sullivan's Atlantic editor, James Bennet -- has already imagined what $8 billion could accomplish in Palestine.

What's the Arc? It's a visionary plan for a sweeping infrastructure corridor that would lay the foundation for a prospective Palestinian state. Developed by Suisman Urban Design and RAND Corporation, the Arc offers a tangible and detailed vision of a successful and prosperous Palestine, living side by side with Israel in peace and security. The Arc would create a national infrastructure corridor that follows the West Bank's curved mountain ridge, from which it derives its name. It would provide swift intercity rail service, a toll highway for trucks, electric power with an emphasis on renewables, natural gas from offshore Gaza, water supply, and national parkland. It would serve all of the main Palestinian towns and cities. The Arc corridor -- and its lateral branches providing modern public transport within each city -- would enable the new state to accommodate a very fast-growing population by renovating existing urban cores and expanding urban neighborhoods in a coherent and sustainable manner. This urban expansion would include new housing, office buildings, shops, hospitals, schools, and public parks -- all within walking distance of public transportation. The Arc is designed to guide both international aid and private investment towards an efficient, integrated national space, rather than towards a costly array of scattered and disconnected projects. Building the Arc could produce as many as 150,000 jobs per year over ten years, in areas like finance, engineering, and construction where the Palestinian workforce is already strong.

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