Who is Arafat? :: Politics Political

Who is Arafat? Now more than ever President Bush is pushing Israel for a withdrawal from the Palestinian-occupied territories in order get the cease-fire in effect. President Bush once said that one cannot negotiate with terrorists; the question now is whether Arafat is a terrorist or a peacemaker. The answer is simple: Arafat is a terrorist, and President Bush should not force Prime Minister Sharon to negotiate with a terrorist. If Arafat is not a terrorist then why are Fatah and Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade (terrorist groups) headed by Arafat (Kalman 1)? President Bush must face the truth about the Arab terror against Israel; he has to "see that the goal of the Arab world has always been, and still is, to destroy the state of Israel"(Podhoretz 2). The fact is that after the Oslo peace accords in September 1993, Palestinians killed more Israelis than in the 15 years that preceded the accord (Kelly 2). If there was no peace as a result of that accord, why should anyone expect peace after any other accord that Arafat is in charge of, as he was in Oslo? How can a man that won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993, now urge Palestinians to "sacrifice themselves as martyrs in jihad (holy war) for Palestine"(Kalman 2)? Is this a man that anyone can negotiate with? Reuters reports that on April 1, 2002 "one of Lebanon's most prominent Shiite Muslim cleric [gave] his blessing to female suicide bombers, like [the] one who struck in Jerusalem on Friday (March 29, 2002), calling them authors of a 'new, glorious history for Arab and Muslim women.'"(Par. 1) President Bush must see that: "there is no moral difference between the terrorists operating out of the PA and the al-Qaida network. He will recognize that to sponsor the establishment of a state run by the thugs and murderers of the PA would be tantamount to putting the Taliban back into power in Afghanistan" (Podhoretz 4). To assail Israel now and make Sharon pull Israeli troops out of Palestinian territory without fully completing their task of rooting out the terrorists would be like telling Bush that he has to pull out American troops from Afghanistan because our troops are invading their land. After Prime Minister Sharon announced war on terrorism and began sending Israeli troops into Palestinian territories, there have been fewer suicide bombings. While Israel was occupying the major Palestinian towns, there were no suicide bombings for about eight days, but as soon as Israel started pulling out, suicide bombings began again. Who is Arafat? :: Politics Political Who is Arafat? Now more than ever President Bush is pushing Israel for a withdrawal from the Palestinian-occupied territories in order get the cease-fire in effect. President Bush once said that one cannot negotiate with terrorists; the question now is whether Arafat is a terrorist or a peacemaker. The answer is simple: Arafat is a terrorist, and President Bush should not force Prime Minister Sharon to negotiate with a terrorist. If Arafat is not a terrorist then why are Fatah and Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade (terrorist groups) headed by Arafat (Kalman 1)? President Bush must face the truth about the Arab terror against Israel; he has to "see that the goal of the Arab world has always been, and still is, to destroy the state of Israel"(Podhoretz 2). The fact is that after the Oslo peace accords in September 1993, Palestinians killed more Israelis than in the 15 years that preceded the accord (Kelly 2). If there was no peace as a result of that accord, why should anyone expect peace after any other accord that Arafat is in charge of, as he was in Oslo? How can a man that won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993, now urge Palestinians to "sacrifice themselves as martyrs in jihad (holy war) for Palestine"(Kalman 2)? Is this a man that anyone can negotiate with? Reuters reports that on April 1, 2002 "one of Lebanon's most prominent Shiite Muslim cleric [gave] his blessing to female suicide bombers, like [the] one who struck in Jerusalem on Friday (March 29, 2002), calling them authors of a 'new, glorious history for Arab and Muslim women.'"(Par. 1) President Bush must see that: "there is no moral difference between the terrorists operating out of the PA and the al-Qaida network. He will recognize that to sponsor the establishment of a state run by the thugs and murderers of the PA would be tantamount to putting the Taliban back into power in Afghanistan" (Podhoretz 4). To assail Israel now and make Sharon pull Israeli troops out of Palestinian territory without fully completing their task of rooting out the terrorists would be like telling Bush that he has to pull out American troops from Afghanistan because our troops are invading their land. After Prime Minister Sharon announced war on terrorism and began sending Israeli troops into Palestinian territories, there have been fewer suicide bombings. While Israel was occupying the major Palestinian towns, there were no suicide bombings for about eight days, but as soon as Israel started pulling out, suicide bombings began again.