Armchair Pundits

Arafat Dead

As the international community mourns Arafat, I find myself humming a John Lennon tune. Thing is, I think I'll change the lyric--"All we are saying, now peace has a chance." I know, I know what you're thinking. Man, is he ever optimistic! Well I suppose you can't fault me for that. A friend of mine, Matt sends the following from Dispatch From Jerusalem, a publication of Bridges for Peace:

"Yasser Arafat had the heart and attitude of Adolf Hitler toward Israel and the Jewish people, the terrorist persona of an Osama bin Laden, and the despotic style of rule of a Saddam Hussein.
In fact, Arafat is rightfully credited as being the father of modern terrorism. It is Arafat who invented an organized and systematic terror organization, the Palestine Liberation Organization; perfected plane hijacking with deadly precision (e.g., the hijacking and destruction of TWA, Pan-Am, and BOAC planes on September 6, 1970); orchestrated terrifying hostage taking and killing of civilians (e.g., the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro, schoolchildren in Israel, the Munich Olympics massacre); directly ordered the execution of individuals and diplomats (the United States ambassador in Sudan); planned the destruction of national infrastructures such as water carriers, power facilities, and oil depots; and created one of the worst evils on earth - the dreaded suicide bombers, whom he personally financed and who have killed and maimed thousands of innocent people. For a comprehensive list of terror events connected with Yasser Arafat, click on http://m1e.net/c?5348351-m8lpCwKy6g8cY%40725922-iaHLCJPEl9/Qc
Given an opportunity for a two-state solution that would have brought peace and prosperity to the Palestinian people and Israel, Arafat could not shift into a new diplomatic role to build a state and remained entrenched in his goal to destroy Israel. For Israel and many Palestinians, the 1993 Oslo Accords were an opportunity for a hopeful future. For Arafat, it was part of his 1974 Phased Program, which called for a staged plan to destroy Israel. In the end, he rejected Israel's offer for peace and started the current Al-Aqsa War. Throughout his leadership of the Palestinian Authority, he has indoctrinated a whole generation of Palestinians to hate; he stole billions from his own people, much of which may never be located; he neglected economic development and the building an infrastructure, leaving his government and people bankrupt; and he unleashed his own Fatah terrorists and groups such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad, which have mocked the rule of law and corrupted and oppressed Palestinian society. Arafat was the worst possible leader and the worst thing that ever happened to the Palestinian people."

That pretty much sums it up.

posted by Grisby @ 10:41 AM