In the Arab world, where despots rule by the gun, it's very common for the Top Dog (with apologies to Bowser...) to set up and maintain multiple and redundant security forces, whose job it is to watch each other as much as it is to serve the Glorious Leader and execute (quite literally at times) his policies. In a political culture where succession usually occurs upon the murder of the incumbent, this is obviously a wise course of action.

And it takes money. Lots of money. Around 30% of the PA budget disappears each year, in the pockets of Arafat, and everyone he must carefully choose to pay off to maintain loyalty. (just imagine how the free, left wing Israeli press would scream from the rooftops if even a tiny fraction of the Israeli budget went "missing" for a moment!)

In the current political environment and under Arafat's corrupt leadership, I think it's next to impossible that this summer's Mid-East peace conference could result in the creation of a free, democratic Palestinian state without a massively corrupt, oppressive government. If by some miracle it did, Yassir Arafat wouldn't have anything more to do, would he?