U.S. Says Still Opposed to Assassination of Arafat

[maddezmom]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The State Department said on Friday it stood by its opposition to the assassination of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat after Israel's prime minister said he no longer felt bound by a pledge not to harm the Palestinian leader.
"Nothing has changed in the U.S. position and I will look at the statement and see what we have to say," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher told reporters after Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said he was no longer bound by a pledge he gave President Bush not to harm Arafat.

"I said during in our first meeting about three years ago that I accepted his request not to harm Arafat physically," Sharon told Israel's Channel 2. "But I am released from this commitment. I release myself from this commitment regarding Arafat."

Sharon said he told this to Bush last week during a meeting with him at the White House, where he received U.S. approval for his plan to unilaterally evacuate all settlements from the Gaza Strip and some in the West Bank.

~snip~

more: http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=4925886

[BigBigBear]

1. Thank goodness

Bush is playing a positive and constructive role in establishment of a fair peace in the ME.

[maddezmom]

2. wonder if it's bush or the blanket statement of the State Dept.

either way, glad they came out on this in a timely manner.

[BlueEyedSon]

3. Don't you believe it.

[seemslikeadream]

9. Wink

[BlueEyedSon]

10. Woo hoo... nice!

[maddezmom]

12. personally, I think it's the standard canned reply from the State Dept

and the veto at the Security Council last week, was a green light for Sharon. :(

[On the Road]

4. Well, That's Big of Them

"Still"? Like it may change?

Just ot see what happens, I think the State Dept should annouce "We're still opposed to the assassination of Sharon but, you know..."

[Minstrel Boy]

5. Sharon visited Washington when? Just last week?

Since then, Israel has assassinated another Hamas leader, vowed to strike at its leaders in Syria, and declared Arafat is fair game.

And the US is saying, "tisk tisk".

As Bush said, to gales of laughter at a press conference, "This is a scripted...."

[mobuto]

15. There's a difference between Rantisi and Arafat

Not a huge difference, since both are terrorists, but enough so that if Israel assasinated Arafat, the US would stop vetoing Security Council resolutions (at least for a while). It wouldn't be a terribly prudent move on Israel's part, but I don't think it would be the end of the world.

[The Stranger]

23. Rantisi shares more with Sharon than Arafat

Arafat joined Rabin and Peres as architects of the Oslo Accords, which were torpedoed by right-wing extremists like Ariel Sharon and Rabin's assassin.

Likud launched a press campaign that has lasted for years trying to demonize Arafat in order to hide the truly hideous past of Ariel Sharon.

[tinnypriv]

25. Funnily enough

According to one center-right political commentator in the Israeli press, when Israel informed the United States it had liquidated Yassin, the response of some people in the Bush admin was:

"Yeah, what about Rantissi?"

This is under the heading of "More right than Lieberman" (a reference to the extreme ultra-hawk Avigdor Lieberman, in the Israeli cabinet - more right than Sharon).

[Jacobin]

6. "I release myself from this committment"

Oh, I see. If Sharon finds it convenient to break his "committments" then he just "releases himself".

:eyes:

All the fundies and zionists lurching toward Armageddon.

[kysrsoze]

7. Yeah......wink-wink!

Do people think the US will actually punish Israel if they kill Arafat? The WORST they've gotten is a public "Aw, shucks, you probably shouldn't have done that. Shame on you."

[GainesT1958]

8. All I can think of is...

How many Israeli kids are going to die in suicide attacks--or worse--as a result of the actions of this madman, this pig Sharon!:mad:

And then, how many Palestinian kids are going to die in IDF reprisal strikes?:-(

Sharon needs to be indicted for corruption by the Israeli courts so that nation can have his black cloud removed from above it, and POST HASTE!:grr:

B-)

[drscm]

11. but in the end, * will praise Sharon for his commitment to

wiping out terra-ists.

[maddezmom]

13. and peace

:eyes:

[GainesT1958]

14. I thought Dub gave Sharon a blank check last week..

I guess Sharon thought so, too!:mad:

B-)

[Voltaire99]

16. Sharon's the moral equivalent of Osama bin Laden.

...destroyer of civilians and terror whirlwind.

But tubby there is, you know, a man of peace. Deep down inside.

[JoFerret]

17. Still?

...what is wrong with the use of that word here?

[davidinalameda]

18. all hell will break loose

if Israel goes after Arafat

I cannot imagine the carnage that will happen

[maddezmom]

19. so is Powell in or out of the loop this time?

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush has told Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon that he opposes any attempt by Israel on the life of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, Secretary of State Colin Powell said.

Sharon said on Friday he told Bush in Washington last week that he was no longer bound by a pledge not to harm Arafat.

"The president made it clear that he would oppose any such attempts against Mr. Arafat," Powell said during an interview on ABC's "Nightline" late on Friday.

"And the president firmly believes that he has a commitment from Prime Minister Sharon that no such attempt will be made."

Powell's remarks made him the highest-ranking Bush administration official to openly oppose Sharon's shift on Arafat.
~snip~

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=4928188

[Norquist Nemesis]

20. The president firmly believes?

"And the president firmly believes that he has a commitment from Prime Minister Sharon that no such attempt will be made." vs Sharon's statement that he told him otherwise?

Cheney sure is a master of 1000 faces.

[maddezmom]

21. insanity isn't it?

bush* and colin need to read the papers and watch the news...Sharon has taken back his promise!!!

[Iceburg]

22. US opposed to "Israel killing Arafat" ... wants to do it themselves

[goforit]

24. Is Rabbi Hertzberg the" only" man of reason??

Thanks for the info .....Tinore!!

"Sharon and Bush frying in hell" quoted by Hertzberg is
what karma is all about.

So what comes around goes around, eh?