yasser died

Lynx_Arc

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It is temporarily good news for Israel, the Palestineans will be busy figuring out pecking order but when they decide who knows what will happen? Could be more peaceful or more violent than before, or more peaceful THEN more violent. Only God knows for sure...
 

Jack_Crow

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Hi all,

This may sound cold, but with the death of Arafat, perhaps some good will come out of this. No doubt there will be a shake up in their 'government' but sometimes these things work out.

Keep in mind, Iraq and most of the mid east works like neighboring crime familes. They take care of their own. Split along tribal, familiy, and religous lines.

Imagine a crime family with the abilities of a nation state, and that's what Saddam was, and now the late Arafat.

After having lived in the mid east for a year, and been witness to just what kind of violence some elements of radical Islam are capable of, I see this as no great loss.

(moderate Islam is just good people trying to live in peace, I have no issue with them, cool dudes)

Now there is a slim chance that sanity will break out, and perhaps someone will take charge there and start making sense. Could there be an end to this back and forth outrage we see each week.

Isreal has it right. Good fences make good neighbors.

Here is an unhappy thought you should share with the guys at work.

What if the tatics we see here get adapted to your part of the world.

Imagine just how tough your job will get if some drug dealing bozo gang takes out a rival gang with a trash can filled with AMFO?
And the block around them?

How long before our own little terror clubs start using these tatics.

What if one of these idiots get's good with a rifle, and starts wacking guys three long blocks away?

What if they learn to shut up rather than sing or brag to their friends. Your CI's would be of zero value.

I don't have to tell you about the number of crazy people who live in in New York. (I was a Long Island resident for 36 years)

How many times has some mutt been arrested. A family member get's bent and six cops at the front desk of the preicent have to detain the relative trying to rewrite history?

What happens if some unhappy relative learns how to make a car bomb off the internet? Instead of a toyota packed with nailes, it's a van.

Or some annoyed tech type wants to make the city of New York pay for some precived crime. You have had them in the past. That bozo with the gas on the subway, who torched himself and a few others. The guy with the bomb in the locker at Grand Centeral (was that ever solved?) in the 50's. Heck, look at how much trouble there was in the centeral park wilding case, or Berkowitz caused. Heck look up Elenor Bumpers fatal act of stupidity and it's side effects.

Look, I get concerned each time I hear of a trooper catching a splinter. It's the same when an officer is hurt. You put on the uniform, your one of the good guys. Keep your self safe, and the rest of us too.

Thanks in advance

Jack Crow in Iraq
 

Lynx_Arc

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Arafat wasn't a religious leader, but more of a strong man and terrorist. People feared him and his group and he had the strings on the money... I saw a report that he may have embezzled over a billion dollars from the supposed palestinean relief fund or whatever it is and people are scrambling to get that money... his wife supposedly got a deposit of 60 million before he died and the rest of her family is proported to have gotten control of the rest of his loot he swiped from the palestineans. If this is all true then the ones who can get access to the money may be the leaders... like Jack said.... maffia.
 

James S

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It's going to be really rough for the palestinians for a while because what's coming for them is civil war. In the long term it's going to prove that the reason that no negotiations have ever worked past stage 1 with Arafat is because he was never in a position to deliver on any of them as there is no real government there. The UN was giving him recognition as a government, but he never was able to control or didn't want to control or offer anything at all.

Now the result will be really a mess and the people will suffer. But ultimately perhaps the civil war will reveal who the thugs and terrorists are vs those that might be interested in actually forming a government that will represent the palestinians locally and internationally and help them out. There is much potential for good things in the future, but the present is going to be very messy and many people are going to suffer.
 

avusblue

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"Why in the world does much of the media a) care about Arafat's death in such sympathetic terms; and b) provide overall favorable coverage.

For goodness sake, the man is evil: the father of terrorism, responsible for the deaths of untold thousands, mostly civilians, and that includes not only Israelis, but Palestinians and even Americans as well.

The man has stolen millions from his people, trained generations of children to hate and murder and because of his despotic rule he has squandered the hopes of the Palestinian people. I hope the world will look at Arafat for what he is -- the founder of modern terrorism with the blood of thousands on his hands, including those of his own people.

The media obsession with Arafat is morally corrupt and an insult to his many victims."




I cannot take credit for writing these words, they appeared as letters to the editor of the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday and Wednesday this week (before the guy died). I can say that I wholeheartedly agree with the writers that we shouldn't come anywhere close to honoring this creep.

Dave
 

zorba

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[ QUOTE ]
avusblue said:
For goodness sake, the man is evil: the father of terrorism, responsible for the deaths of untold thousands, mostly civilians, and that includes not only Israelis, but Palestinians and even Americans as well.
Dave

[/ QUOTE ]

And someone even dared to award him the Nobel Peace prize...
 

Flashlightboy

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It's pretty telling when upon hearing of his death, people say that perhaps it will be a catalyst for peace. Ouch!! Zing!!

The worked his entire life as either an overt or covert sponsor of terrorism and in the end, the terrorism he purportedly disavowed continues by his own people and party.

The PLO and Palestinians are at a crossroads. They will have their mourning and then a serious talk amongst themselves about their future. I wouldn't be surprised if the 1999 Israeli offer was accepted although the PLO must control the militant wing or see to their demise if it wants to maintain any credibility.
 

AlphaTea

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right behind you. LOOK!
Well, I can tell you I am pissed at CBS...
CSI:NY is concluding and getting down to who dunnit at 10:55 pm, all of a sudden the CBS News music starts and BREAKING NEWS BULLETIN flashes on the screen. The News Bimbo starts giving Y.A.'s life story like he's the savior of the Middle East. They get done just in time to see the last 10 seconds of the previews of next weeks show. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/Christo_pull_hair.gif
Ya know what? He was just as dead 10 minutes later.
Holy freakin Heidi Bowl!
 

_mike_

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[ QUOTE ]
avusblue said:
"Why in the world does much of the media a) care about Arafat's death in such sympathetic terms; and b) provide overall favorable coverage.

For goodness sake, the man is evil: the father of terrorism, responsible for the deaths of untold thousands, mostly civilians, and that includes not only Israelis, but Palestinians and even Americans as well.

The man has stolen millions from his people, trained generations of children to hate and murder and because of his despotic rule he has squandered the hopes of the Palestinian people. I hope the world will look at Arafat for what he is -- the founder of modern terrorism with the blood of thousands on his hands, including those of his own people.

The media obsession with Arafat is morally corrupt and an insult to his many victims."




I cannot take credit for writing these words, they appeared as letters to the editor of the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday and Wednesday this week (before the guy died). I can say that I wholeheartedly agree with the writers that we shouldn't come anywhere close to honoring this creep.

Dave

[/ QUOTE ]

I have to say Dave, I'm with you on this too.
 

Flashlightboy

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Now that he's gone Ringo Starr is being cast to play him in the movie, "Yaz, it is a table cloth." /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crackup.gif
 

MicroE

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Remember that the palestinian people celebrated and danced in the streets after the World Trade Centers collapsed.
Remember the USS Cole.
Remember the 240+ US Marines killed in Beirut.

Arafat and the leaders of Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, etc. never wanted peace. Peace was offered to them, but they turned it down.
Instead they chose to continue the terror campaign and pushed for their people to focus on Israel. This kept people busy and kept their minds off the untold billions of dollars that are being raked in by the leaders of the oil states while the common folk live in squalor.
 

bindibadgi

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I have failed to understand the positive media coverage he has been getting for years now. I rarely saw a news report in the last decade that came close to admitting he was a terrorist.

But now I feel for the Palestinians and Israelis because they will no doubt go through a time of even greater upheaval and pain. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif
 

Unicorn

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I'm hoping that the next leader will be of a more moderate bent. Even Israel has been willing to negotiate and compromise somewhat. I'm glad that Bush is pushing even harder for a Palestinian state right now. That will hopefully settle things down in the region a bit.
 

Mike75

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Well, only time will show what will be the outcome of all this. We should concentrate now in getting out of Gaza strip and that is the primary goal. With or without Arafat the terror will continue - what can you expect when PLO's military wing is responsible for most part of the terrorist activity lately? Arafat was responsible for their terrorist activity and paid for it from the money he've got to make the life of the palestinians better...
I don't believe that the fence will help us much, as the palestinians are developing new missiles every day. But this is better than having no fence at all.
I'm sick and tired of doing my reserve service in Gaza and around it, I'll be very happy once we're not there anymore. I think that the Palestinians should be given the option to manage their own territory, the only thing that bothers me are the militants taking over.
Yes, we are ready to compromise, but I don't believe that this will lead to some kind of peace. Maybe it'll somewhat lower the flames, but the hate is too strong on the other side. The simple fact is that their children learn at summer camps how to kill Israelis and how to make bombs...
 

Lynx_Arc

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I think it is just the calm of the storm, regardless of who becomes the leader they will most likely have to heavily favor the desires (including hateful,murderous intentions)of the palestineans people in order to have any power.
It would take a police force/army loyal to the leader willing to kill palestineans and work with Isreali/local intelligence to root out the factions intent on war to accomplish the end of it. I don't see this happening with anyone with exception of perhaps the U.S. attitude in Iraq and afghanistan no other country that would be considered would be effective, even then it would take perhaps 1-3 generations to undo the brainwashing that leads to homicide/suicide bombers and terrorist activities and the muslim community at large is rather silent on those issues and would probably whine if we spoiled their dreams of an islamic state in place of Israel. I figure whoever gets in power will have to be ruthless to an extent to get anything accomplished and that quality wont lead to continuing peace but to more violence as ruthless people are usually not swayed by true suffering and care to confront it, and they have little respect for absolute truth but rather convenient *truth* like arafat did.
 
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