Watch out — second wave of Arafat-love coming in:
— Octogenarian White House correspondent Helen Thomas (pictured):
This is a requiem for Nobel Peace Prize winner Yasser Arafat, the fallen leader of the benighted but unbowed Palestinian people. He never achieved an independent state for his people or the return of thousands of exiled Palestinians to their homeland, but there was no question he was their unchallenged spiritual and political leader.
— Eric Margolis rationalizes Arafat’s terror in the Toronto Sun:
Along the way, Arafat and his lieutenants resorted to what we call terrorism — the only way the weak can fight the strong.
Though Margolis later acknowledges Arafat’s flaws, terror isn’t among them:
In waging his epic struggle, Arafat made many grave mistakes. He was autocratic, allowed corruption to flourish, and always secretive. His management of Palestinian finances may well blow up into a tawdry scandal tarnishing his reputation. He was seen even by Arab admirers as too foxy and clever by half.
— Waikato Times (NZ) staff-ed rationalizes terror:
Palestinians are oppressed and Arafat must have come to the conclusion in his younger days that bloodshed was a necessary evil. After all, in 1947 when the UN, in its stupidity, decided to divide Palestine between Palestinian Arabs and Jews, leaving Arabs with 47 per cent of their land, Palestinians did not accept the decision. War broke out and newly declared Israel expanded its state to about 75 per cent of Palestine by 1949. Since then, Israel has continued to forcibly expand and occupy Palestinian land despite UN resolutions calling for its withdrawal.
