The Blob

Thursday, November 11, 2004

Arafat: A perspective

Yassir, I gotta say this: Arafat is dead. Finally. I should never dance on someone's grave, but I feel no pity for anyone who brutally killed thousands of innocent men, women and children in the name of his goal. Yassir was an odd mix of terrorism and diplomacy, a life led in which the ends (an unquenchable thirst for a Palestinian homeland) justified his often brutal means.

There were times when he showed contrition, as he did immediately after September 11. But Yassir Arafat was also the force behind the Munich Olympics killings, a mass killing of schoolchildren and countless other wanton murders. Is this the way to create a legitimate nation? When I think back about Yassir Arafat, I will remember him as the father of modern terrorism as we know it. Nothing more, nothing less. And for all the defiance he showed, in the end, the Palestinian people gained little. Disagreeable though I have often found them, they do deserve a better fate.

My only hope, and sadly one that I doubt that I will ever experience in my lifetime, is to see the people of Israel and Palestine finally make amends, and realize that fighting and seeking an eye for an eye will never accomplish anything. But that is an argument I will never win. You cannot change people who don't want to change. Trust is the last thing on their minds.

What scares me is that a year from now, many of us might think nostalgically about Mr. Arafat. Although the immediate leaders of Palestine appear to be more moderate, I'm afraid they may soon be pushed out of the way, and violently. Much more radical groups will no doubt vie for power. I do hope I am wrong.

To give you some perspective on Arafat, look at the following articles. A scathing post-mortem on Arafat from Jeff Jacoby of the Boston Globe is required reading. It contrasts with the politically correct and ever-clueless statements by former President Jimmy Carter. Here's a link to a story on the chaotic funeral on the West Bank. The crazed behavior of the mob did little to support their quest for statehood.

Finally, I offer you an article about Arafat's widow Suha Arafat, and the deal she pulled to take in a paltry $22 Million per year to help her live happily ever after in Paris. It supports what I suspected: that they pulled the plug on Arafat's life support about 5 seconds after she cut a deal for the money. Can you feel the love?

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