Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently signaled a new way of thinking about Haiti when she said that its government would be key in dispersing nearly $10 billion in aid pledged at an international donors conference.

It might seem obvious to expect that Haiti's government would control Haiti's redevelopment. But Haiti's government has been corrupt and dysfunctional for a long, long time. As a result, it often has been forced to stand aside and watch as internationally backed aid projects go forward there.

Nonetheless, Clinton signaled faith. "It will be tempting to fall back on old habits — to work around the government rather than to work with them as partners. . . . We cannot retreat to failed strategies," she said.

Sorry, but the failed "strategy" in Haiti has been the government. Now, as Haiti sees more money than it has ever imagined — tens of billions of dollars flowing into the country in response to the devastating January earthquake — isn't the time to let hope trump reality.

There is too much at stake — not just in life-and-death needs but in rebuilding Haiti's credibility — to hand billions to the government and hope for the best.

Last year, Transparency International ranked Haiti near the bottom of the world's nations in its efforts to control corruption. There has been some progress: The World Bank recently cited reform efforts there when it forgave some Haitian government debt. But we're talking billions of dollars.

The vision for Haiti's reconstruction should come from its leaders. That will give them a political stake in its success and make it tougher to blame any failures on meddling foreign interests.

But the international community will have to retain strong oversight of the funds.

That won't go over well in Haiti. Raymond Joseph, Haiti's ambassador to the U.S., complained recently that Haiti has become "a republic of NGOs." It rankles Haitian leaders that foreign nations and nongovernmental organizations play such a heavy role in its development.

Are we talking a new form of colonialism? Hardly.

A commission governing reconstruction will be led by former President Bill Clinton and Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive. That's a sound idea. Clinton has pushed tirelessly for many years to promote business investment in Haiti, and Haitians trust him. Bellerive is a common-sense technocrat with reform credentials. In the wake of the earthquake, he has appeared far more competent than embattled President Rene Preval.

Americans want this effort to succeed. They have generated more than $1 billion in private donations and the U.S. government has pledged $1.1 billion. That money, and billions more, can't go to waste.