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November 15, 2004
Weeping for a monster.
What is about some of the monsters who have defaced the human history of the last 100 years that they are no sooner dead than they are lionised? What has that ghastly parody of a leader, Arafat, done to deserve this weeping, wailing, and mass hysteria? The man was a venal, corrupt, and thoroughly untrustworthy self-publicist, yet the dupes of the so-called Palestinian people behave as if he were some sort of saint.
Even the Western Press is being sychophantic about the man. He was a pathological liar, a man whose word could be trusted no further than a man with a bone dry mouth can spit. He consistently refused very reasonable settlements which could have brought peace to the region a long time ago - yet he didn't accept them. He publically denounced the Intifada - yet privately and secretly was encouraging it and probably funding it through rewards - sorry, compensation - to the families of suicide bombers. His legacy is the hatred and the bitterness with which both sides view each other, and the Fence, and the "illegal" settlements. Every rocket attack, every round fired by the Israeli soldiers is all part of the legacy of distrust and hatred he nurtured so carefully.
Even his desire to be buried at the Al Aqsa Mosque is designed to keep that hatred alive. He knows the Israelis will see Hell itself freeze over before they even consider allowing it - and even then they would probably say no!
He claimed to have been born in Jerusalem but in reality was born in Cairo. His family were wealthy - funny how that is so often the case with terrorist leaders - a life of privilege, university, and suddenly the big conversion into a mass murderer. Make no mistake, for all his posturing and for all his protestations of innocence, it was this man who sent in the terrorists and ordered them to kill women and children - think back to the attack on a school in the early 1970's which resulted in Primary School children being shot and killed and dozens more injured by three terrorists under his direct orders. He may not have actually pulled the trigger - his side arm was very showy, but probably not even loaded - yet it was his orders that these psychopaths followed.
King Hussein had him and his people ejected from Jordan following the blowing up and murder of passengers in hijacked airliners in the desert in Libya, and there were other reasons as well - like the plot to overthrow the Hashemite Dynasty and re-unite Jordan and Palestine under one "leader". I wonder who that would have been?
In one sense he has been a useful tool for the Arab world; they have used him to keep their own radicals in check - by sending them to "support" the "struggle" for the seizure of Palestine. That was Arafat's grand plan. Force the Israeli's to give up little pockets of territory inside Israel which could then be used as staging posts for further unrest and more land claims until he had "stolen" it back. Unfortunately for him, the Israelis knew this - and wouldn't give way on it, any more than they will give way on the question of giving up their control of Jerusalem.
At least with this nasty little murderer gone to answer for his crimes before whatever God he believed in (I'm not at all sure he actually believed the religion he claimed to follow!) and maybe, just maybe, he'll find that he has to answer for it all for a very long time! Who knows, perhaps he will find, as in a Pratchett novel, that there are a lot of rather upset souls waiting for him in the desert of the dead. They have quite a long time to explain exactly what they think of their hero now.
Don't be surprised if the current outbreak of mass hysteria sees a rise in violence and suicide attacks. Then, once that outburst is over, watch them all try to blame Israel for his death - while his cronies all tear each other apart in an effort to get the top job. Once the unity is shattered, I expect that there will be a chance for peace. After all, the main stumbling block is now gone - but his legacy will be a poisonous one, and nothing will be easy in this at all.
Posted by The Gray Monk at November 15, 2004 10:21 AM