Ailing Arafat deserves fair judgment

[Englander]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/comment/0,10551,1346300,00.html

>>A double consensus is forming around Yasser Arafat: one, that the old man is dying and two, that he was a failure. The first assumption is, alas, all too plausible. The second is based almost entirely on an Israeli perspective.

>>That is not entirely to invalidate it. Israel has been sore pressed by events of the past decade or so since peace was first dangled so tantalisingly over the Middle East. Manifestly, whatever emerged from the 1993 Oslo accords was not peace, or even a lessening of violence. At best, the historic agreement brought only a cruelly unrealised hope of a lasting settlement. But to say Yasser Arafat is wholly responsible for crushing that hope, through his unwillingness to compromise, is wildly unfair.

>>Israel has not compromised either. Tens of thousands of settlers have poured into the West Bank, seizing land and destroying Palestinian homes and farms. The occupied territories have been relentlessly assaulted, and their residents systematically terrorised. The Palestinian economy, always pathetic, has been destroyed.

>>Arafat was never the wisest of leaders. He was a rotten administrator, and was utterly incapable of delegation. But the man who brought his people to the very edge of statehood, deserves better than the opprobrium being heaped on him at the very edge of death.<<

· Derek Brown was Guardian correspondent in Jerusalem, 1993-96

[Drunkkkkkkkkman]

1. ARafAT

Kermint thewg frog is so cute, don't drink and type kiddies.

[LARED]

2. Can anyone explain why

Arafat deserves anything less than utter and complete disgust at his lifes work and hopefulness that with his death progress can be made in the ME.

Did he have any redeeming qualities? Did he accomplish anything worthwhile without the use of terror, thievery, or lies.

Anything?

[drdon326]

3. "terror, thievery, or lies." ????

Lets put it this way....there are 72 virgins praying for his
speedy recovery.

[American Tragedy]

4. ROFL

[bluesoul]

5. sick

More Islam bashing and insulting just as those idiots at FR

:puke:

[drdon326]

6. Give me a break....

so, if your criticize his Nobel-ness, you're "Islam bashing".

Sorry, alot of us don't hold arafat in such high esteem as you do.

[bluesoul]

7. Nope

"there are 72 virgins praying for his
speedy recovery."

The part you were talking about. But you'll never admit you Islamophobia or hatred here...

This time I really have enough of it here. If even supposed liberals and democrats take the conservanazi way of demonizing Islam and using such sickening tactics, I don't want anything to have with it, even participating. No wonder Bush gets elected when even part of the electoral base with a D votes for him (or he wouldn't be getting so many votes) and thinks the way his most radical (neocon) advisors do on Islam and anything non Judeo-Christian.

But at least I said what was on my mind. Good

Au revoir...

[drdon326]

8. Bluesoul.... I think we're a little over-sensitive.

I like you man.......pm me and we'll talk.


btw...i voted for kerry and got my office to do the same....
alot of good that did.

[Djinn]

17. what do you mean by

"got my office to do the same" presumably you just mean convinced them that a vote for Kerry was wise but it sounds kinda fascist when you put it that way - nice to see you have different views than all the rabid right wing sources you post from who were all loudly shilling for Bush!

[Name removed]

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[theboss]

10. He made his wife very very happy

It's amazing what a few billion dollars in stolen funds can do.

[LARED]

11. It's true

he did make his wife happy. A few billion dollars and a great distance away from her for the last fours years cleary was a benefit.

[drdon326]

12. I could be happy also for $ 1 0 0, 0 0 0 . 0 0 per month.

.

[theboss]

9. He deserves fair judgment before a jury

I can't believe that Arafat is being sent off like a fucking hero. He's John Gotti with bad skin.

[geek tragedy]

13. What asshattery.

The Palestinians are worse off for his efforts. He was a thug, a thief, a murderer, a terrorist, a congenital liar, and trusted by no one.

The only pity is that he isn't taking the rest of his Tunisian Mafia with him.

[newyorican]

14. Hmmm....

Everyone deserves a "fair judgement".

No matter who the person is. Surprised at the amount of vile bile in this thread. Either everybody deserves fair judgement, or nobody deserves it.

Interesting on how many come down on the side of, 'no fair judgement for anyone'. Some of the same "folks" that squeal loudest about bias and unfairness appear to be experiencing an acute case of cognitive dissonance.

AssHATtEry indeed...

[Djinn]

18. the hatred of Arafat doesn't worry me

after all I'm no fan myself and his undoubted corruption hasn't helped Palestinians much - although whether anyone else could help them given the persent situation, I dunno - but I fully expect to see all the people engaging in it to be completely supportive of the rest of the IP, when that fat bloated disgusting pig of a man, Sharon, finally does the decent thing and dies, and we all dance on the motherfuckers grave.