Arafat Dead

[12th Doctor]

The man has passed on everyone.  There is no use in displaying hatred towards him now.  Like I said, I hope that God is mercyful towards him and he maybe invited into God's Kingdom, inspite of his worldy failings.

[M]

First, this man was a monster. Words are cheap these days, but he was a cold-blooded mass murderer, and no question about it. With him gone, I actually think there may be a real chance at an Israeli-Palestinian peace. Unfortunately, like Iraq, even complete success will be meaningless if we prove unable to deal with the Iranian nuclear program, forcefully and soon. Continuing to ignore it will mean no less than nuclear armageddon in the next two or three years.

[12th Doctor]

First, this man was a monster. Words are cheap these days, but he was a cold-blooded mass murderer, and no question about it. With him gone, I actually think there may be a real chance at an Israeli-Palestinian peace. Unfortunately, like Iraq, even complete success will be meaningless if we prove unable to deal with the Iranian nuclear program, forcefully and soon. Continuing to ignore it will mean no less than nuclear armageddon in the next two or three years.

He might have been, but what does it benefit anyone to unleash their ill-feelings now?

[12th Doctor]

If you have so much hate in your heart that it chases someone beyond the grave, then you need to examine yourself.

[12th Doctor]

You should pray for God's mercy for everyone, regardless of who they are and certainly once they are dead.

Blessed are the merciful.  For they shall be shown mercy.

[Nym90]

If you have so much hate in your heart that it chases someone beyond the grave, then you need to examine yourself.

Yes, I agree completely. Like I said, death is bad, though certainly good can come of it, but death in and of itself is not good.

And yes, hating dead people is pretty nonsensical.

[12th Doctor]

If you have so much hate in your heart that it chases someone beyond the grave, then you need to examine yourself.

Yes, I agree completely. Like I said, death is bad, though certainly good can come of it, but death in and of itself is not good.

And yes, hating dead people is pretty nonsensical.

Well, truly hating anyone is nonsensical, but particularly someone who is dead.

[Alcon]

Three cheers for the red, white, and blue (NOT France)!

USA: 3
France: 0

Point Overview
Team USA
1st - Re-Election of President Bush
2nd - French invasion of the Ivory Coast without UN approval (freethrow)
3rd - Death of Yassar Arafat

Team France
Scoreless

I respect 99% of your posts, but you went overboard this time. If you really feel good about us, spare this the rhetoric. This is for the advancement of the world. Do not make it sound like this is another win in the war against liberals or whatever the hell you were trying to reply.

I do not mean to sound angry. I simply want to communicate this very strongly.

[Gabu]

Gabu, you may be right. You are certainly right as applying to certain people. It's kind of hard to see in these particular cases, however. It's hard to see what happened in Hitler's development that may have led him to do what he did.

Well...

- His mother, Klara, the only one of his relatives willing to support him in any way, died from cancer when Hitler was nineteen.
- His father, Alois, savagely beat him whenever he did not do what he was told.
- His younger brother, Edmund, died at the age of six.
- In 1909 he was a penniless homeless person in Vienna.
- In 1918 when the armistice was signed, Hitler felt immensely betrayed.

Perhaps none of this would make someone do specific activities, but it would certainly foster a lot of hate in someone, and with hate and the subsequent loss of humanity, a lot of unspeakable things become possible.

For practically all of his and Germany's troubles, Hitler blamed the Jews, from having a bad economy to losing WWI.  It can only be speculated upon regarding how Hitler would have been different had he had a loving, upper class upbringing, but it wouldn't be a stretch to say that he would have been a very different person.

To clarify, I am not in any way justifying his actions or trying to say that they were okay.  Hitler's actions were of an undescribably horrific nature and, as I said before, his death was absolutely essential for global well-being.  I'm simply saying that they did come from somewhere.

Similarly, Arafat understood the benefits that might have been accrued from seriously negotiating a deal, he also knew the costs if a deal were to fail, or at least he should have. He had a strong hold as Palestinian leader and long experience as a figure on the international scene. It's hard to see how exactly his failures throughout the 1990s to act decisively against terrorism, then again in 2000-2001, can be somehow blamed on environment or childhood. More likely it was something willful, relating to his desire to maintain power within Palestinian security structures. Though, admittedly, he probably regretted his mistake at Camp David. So it's hard to say. Overall, he was not a good leader and supported terrorism over and over again, even though he had plenty of opportunity to act differently. He certainly did not deserve to be leader of the Palestinians and caused 1,000's of deaths.

I'm not saying that his actions specifically stemmed from his childhood and the environment in which he grew up.  Rather, I'm saying that his personality from which he derived the logic behind his actions stemmed from something along those lines.  Psychologists have said in the past that one's personality is only 10% genetics; the other 90% comes from your environment as you grow up.

I personally reject the notion that anyone is inherently evil; obviously, someone who doesn't will arrive at a different conclusion than mine.  Given that I don't believe that someone is inherently evil, I simply personally don't feel that it's right to celebrate that person's death, no matter how evil his actions may have been.

[??????????]

He was a good man who I had a lot of sympathy for up until he started encouraging the murder of Israelie civilians. I had no problem with the PLO blowing up military targets. Military targets are fair game. Civilians aren't. My great aunt (Hanan Ashwari) worked for him for a few years and I have heard his stories.

[opebo]

He was a good man who I had a lot of sympathy for up until he started encouraging the murder of Israelie civilians. I had no problem with the PLO blowing up military targets. Military targets are fair game. Civilians aren't. My great aunt (Hanan Ashwari) worked for him for a few years and I have heard his stories.

Very cool comments, States.  The difference between terrorist and freedom-fighter is only one of perspective.

[Silent Hunter]

I don't know whether to mourn him or not. He wanted freedom for his people, but the methods he used were highly questionable.

At least he made the idea of a Palestinian state acceptable. It's a pity he wasn't able to compromise.

I hope the new Palestinian leadership will make the moves necessary for peace in the Middle East.

[English]

No!

Chirac is a very evil man.

Even the lefties who know about him detest the lying, thieving sob.

Of course lefties dislike Chirac! He's a conservative!
I don't know why you Republicans dislike Chirac other than his obvious Frenchness
He has far more in common with Bush than people like Jospin. Chirac is a conservative, didn't you know?

[CARLHAYDEN]

No!

Chirac is a very evil man.

Even the lefties who know about him detest the lying, thieving sob.

Of course lefties dislike Chirac! He's a conservative!
I don't know why you Republicans dislike Chirac other than his obvious Frenchness
He has far more in common with Bush than people like Jospin. Chirac is a conservative, didn't you know?

First, I'm not a Republican!

Second, Chirac is not a conservative, he's a slimebag.

Third, there are many decent French, unlike the despicable Chirac.

[shankbear]

With all that said, there is one undeniable truth.......Arafat is a formerly living person.  He used to be alive.  In the past he breathed air.  His heart has ceased to beat.  Ringo needs a new double.

[NHPolitico]

I would have gladly put the pillow over his face.

[dokken]

and you call yourself a christian?
you are a shell of a human being.

[PBrunsel]

I would be happy to hear this, but then I think about his successor...

[Erc]

With all that said, there is one undeniable truth.......Arafat is a formerly living person.  He used to be alive.  In the past he breathed air.  His heart has ceased to beat.  Ringo needs a new double.

Wow...he does look a lot like Ringo...

Expect Ringo to make a few surprise tours to Palestine in the coming days...

[Beefalow and the Consumer]

Three cheers for the red, white, and blue (NOT France)!

USA: 3
France: 0

Point Overview
Team USA
1st - Re-Election of President Bush
2nd - French invasion of the Ivory Coast without UN approval (freethrow)
3rd - Death of Yassar Arafat

Team France
Scoreless

I respect 99% of your posts, but you went overboard this time. If you really feel good about us, spare this the rhetoric. This is for the advancement of the world. Do not make it sound like this is another win in the war against liberals or whatever the hell you were trying to reply.

I do not mean to sound angry. I simply want to communicate this very strongly.

I agree.  The death of Arafat is a victory for the people of Palestine and Israel, and the world in general, but NOT for the US in particular.

And while France looks like a bunch of hypocritical fools, their loss is not necessarily our gain.  They are, at least supposedly, on our side.  Our side being that of civilized liberal democracies.

[dazzleman]

I don't think that anybody who is interested in peace, or even concerned with the future of the Palestinians, should mourn Arafat.

Arafat was the international version of some of the black "leaders" we have in this country, willfully prolonging the misery of the people he is supposed to represent in order to keep his own grip on power, and all the while stealing from his people so he can live lavishly.

Arafat threw away the best chance at peace that the Palestinians may ever have, and launched the second intifadada, despite the fact that Israel offered the Palestinians 97% of what they wanted.

Will the future of the middle east be any better without Arafat?  I don't know.  It could be worse in the short run, but in the long run, there is no chance for peace as long as terrorists like Arafat are running the show.

As far as I'm concerned, Arafat won't be missed, except by lame-brained people like Jimmy Carter.

[Democratic Hawk]

I'll shed no tears for Arafat. Still, the possibility of Middle East peace may get back on track.

Tony Blair may just bring out the statesman in GWB yet!

Dave