Israel Says It Will "remove" Arafat Whenever It Chooses

[demdave]

JERUSALEM (AP) - Israelis leaders shrugged off condemnation of their decision to "remove" Yasser Arafat whenever they choose, saying Friday the Palestinian leader should have been ousted long ago and the world has no right to judge a nation facing constant suicide bombings.
Words of caution, regret and anger rolled in from country after country a day after Israel made the vaguely worded decision that it would act to remove Arafat. The threat sparked pro-Arafat marches in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and drew opposition from the European Union, the United Nations and Arab countries, as well as the United States.



http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGAQO6ILIKD.html

[Chico Man]

1. Thus proving Dean correct...

How can we pick sides in the conflict? The only peace that will come with that strategy is when there is noone left to fight.

[Resistance]

9. Sharon has openly proclaimed

in recent months that "there is no pressure from anybody"

[loudnclear]

21. Can't quite understand how the world continues to let Israel get away with

this. I posted this on the GD but it does address this issue.

I know this might be flame-fodder but somethings just don't make sense.

Saddam invades Kuwait in 1990 because (1) Iraq has long believed that Kuwait was lopped off from mainland Iraq by "occupying" UK forces illegally and (2) Iraq accused Kuwait of "slant drilling" into their oil fields and siphoning off Iraqi oil. The world is incensed, we attack them and bomb the hell out of them killing tens of thousands of Iraqi people (women, children, old, young and military). Question: Why wasn't the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq considered an "occupation" with all the "legal" ramifications and concessions that are afforded to the US as an "occupying force" now in Iraq and like Israel, now "occupying" Palestinian territories? Why does the world, including the UN, sanction the behavior of the US and Israel (and the UK in times past) and afford them some type of almost "legal occupying status" for doing the same thing that Saddam did to Kuwait which we considered barbaric, illegal, an act of aggression, and a threat to the world?

How is it that we and Israel and the UK get to invade, kill, loot, piliage, and destroy entire nations and it's considered a badge of honor for democracies and when non-western nations do the same thing for even more legitimate reasons than just hating people, and we and most of the "developed nations" accept it and ascribe legitmacy to those actions by using "legal rights and responsibilities of occupying forces" for such atroscities? Please help me with this...

Is it just plain racism? Does it mean that European nations and Israel and the US have some kind of God-given right to do this while non-white nations are just plain terrorists when they do it?

I'm serious...think about it! Why is this?

[mitchtv]

2. But..But the pResident told us he took care of it

with his roadmap and all

[demdave]

3. Every president since Carter has declared peace in the ME.

[Resistance]

10. at least James Baker told it like it is, once

Not that I am at all a supporter of his, but he did once tell Israel (in public) "The White House phone number is xxx-xxxx, call us when you are serious about peace." (I don't recall the exact digits)

[AntiCoup2K4]

18. Baker actually said that??

For once I agree with the pompous self important election fixing asshole.

[Resistance]

19. The quote is cited

in Benny Morris' book Righteous Victims: A History of the Zionist-Arab Conflict, 1881-2001

[wellst0nev0ter]

20. James Baker The Anti-Semite?

"F––– the Jews, they don't vote for us anyway" - Campaign 1992

[Resistance]

22. yep, he's definitely another right-wing jerk

but I hope you aren't attempting to imply that demanding that Israel get serious about peace is anti-semitic?

[prolesunited]

4. Has the UN issued a statement

or any other countries weighed in?

[StandWatie]

5. hah

Yeah, right.

That's why they are sitting there with their thumb up their ass. Maybe if they get real nasty they will bust into the Ramallah compound and paint the last wall standing there a really nasty shade of green.

[E_Zapata]

6. Sharon is almost going out of his way to screw bush jr.

Sharon is not even feigning a desire to follow a peace plan.

Think of the campaign ads - bush hugging and holding hands with all those middle easterners when the road map got ironed out. Flash to today's reality. Goodbye Bush.

I thought Sharon would at least try to make Bush look good.

[Zero Gravitas]

7. That'll make everything all right I'm sure

Israelis and Palestians will be dancing in the streets giving each other flowers and all will be right with the world. :eyes:

or maybe this will be just another escalting step in the violence.

[Dookus]

8. sigh..

this one truly scares me. Arafat won't go without an armed battle - they'll have to kill him. And if they do, I don't know fuck all about what will happen, but I know it won't be good.

[Resistance]

11. riots

count on it

[otohara]

12. Occupiers Free to Remove & Or

talk about killing Arafat when ever they feel like it. Sounds like Bush's approach to diplomacy.

[twilight]

13. brutal war monger Sharon

If anyone should be ousted it is Sharon.

Long live Arafat!

He looked GREAT yesterday flashing that V sign as flowers were being tossed at him and he threw kisses to the crowds surrounding him. Thats a lot more than I can say for the leader in this screwed up contry!

Furthermore, they asked Arafat if he planned to leave soon and he replied, "NO! Why should I? I was BORN here!"

Right on Arafat!!! :)

[EFF BrandyWine]

23. Since you obviously admire Mr. Arafat so much, Mr/Ms Twilight,

you should learn a little of his history before you believe what he says. He was born in Cairo, Egypt, and a quick search on the Internet will tell you a great deal about your hero. The one thing he does best is manipulate opinion and his own image.

In case you think I am in favor of the Israelis killing him, I am not. I hope that cooler minds will prevail in that country. You are certainly entitled to your opinion and whom you choose to call hero. I of course, decidedly disagree with you.

[plcdude]

14. Will "remove" Sadaam Whenever It Chooses

no surprise here Sharon is just doing what he sees us do. There is no foreign policy there is only international mafiaism.

[Forkboy]

15. "..no right to judge a nation facing constant suicide bombings"

wrong

[StandWatie]

16. what the hell was 9/11

:shrug:

[EFF BrandyWine]

24. The operative word is "constant".

N/T

[dfong63]

17. another view

folks, let's put on our thinking caps. for years now, Arafat has been completely at the mercy of Israel. they could have had him killed or deported at any time. yet they didn't. why? because he was useful to them, at least to the extent that they thought it was to their advantage to keep him around.

yes, i know this is the opposite of their official pronouncements. but did you ever notice how Arafat's popularity among Palestinians goes way up whenever he's under explicit threat or siege? of course you did. it's completely understandable. and you can bet that phenomenon is well understood by Sharon also.

therefore, i wonder if this latest round of trial balloons on getting rid of Arafat, is really a backhanded signal that Israel intends to bring Arafat back into the negotiating game. it's a way of shoring up his popularity among Palestinians. when the time is right, Arafat will be in a better position to "sell" the Palestinians on some kind of deal that is more favorable to Israel.

comments?