posted on Nov, 12 2004 @ 03:46 AM
There are a many sides to every issue. There's the right and the wrong, the right and the right, the wrong and the wrong, and finally the typical
case where both sides are partly right and partly wrong.
Yasar Arafat can be viewed a number of ways, depending on where you're coming from. Much of the world doesn't villainize him the way we do. He did
win a Nobel Peace Prize, after all. It's like I heard Pat Buchanan say on MSNBC, "Since World War II, every nation has been considered as terrorist
at one time or another". It seems these days that mainly the U.S. and Israel view Arafat as a terrorist. EVERYONE ELSE (almost) understands that most
of his life he fought for the cause of the Palastinian people, and their right to have a country of their own.
It's just as easy to label Ariel Sharon of Israel a terrorist as it is Yasar Arafat. Perhaps even easier. In the early 50's Sharon's "Unit 101"
death squad in the IDF slaughtered innocent citizens and committed a number of mass murders. His career of mass butchery of innocent civilians spanned
through the 60's, 70's, 80's and 90's. Yet the U.S. fully supports him and does not consider him a terrorist.
And more currently, much of the world considers George W. Bush as the most dangerous terrorist alive. What is it? 100,000 + innocent civilians lost in
Iraq so far? Hmmm ... I'd say that qualifies him to join the ranks.
In my view, what Yasar Arafat represents is much more noble than our little venture into Iraq. There's really no comparison. The Palastinians don't
have nuclear weapons, bunker-buster bombs and Tomahawk missiles. They fight the only way they know how, and for a cause they feel is just. We sit
around and arrogantly label them as terrorists for their methods, while at the same time blowing up and leveling another country for no good reason at
all.
IMHO the U.S. has yet again ARROGANTLY thumbed it's nose at the world by sending a mid-level State Department representative to Yasar Arafat's
funeral. How can anyone think of Bush as a decent person when he does so many despicable things? He's a disgrace to the nation and a setback to Human
evolution.
I hope the Palastinian people are able to have a fitting memorial to a man they consider their leader and a giant for their cause. I wish them well
and feel for their plight.
[edit on 11/12/2004 by netbound]