Mourning for Arafat

Submitted by Fareed (United States), Nov 28, 2004 at 10:45

I mourn his premature death. He should have been extradited and tried for murder .

Arafat murdered US Ambassador Cleo Noel and diplomat George Curtis Moore -- do you remember these names? You should. They were murdered on March 2, 1973 in Khartoum on the express orders of Yasser Arafat. The White House should have insisted that Israel capture Arafat and extradite him to the US for trial.

Noel, Moore, and a Belgian diplomat were seized and held hostage by Black-September terrorists during a reception at the Saudi Embassy in Khartoum. The terrorists demanded the release of Sirhan Sirhan, the Palestinian assassin of Robert Kennedy. President Nixon refused to negotiate. Execute the diplomats, ordered Arafat. His thugs in Khartoum obeyed, machine-gunning the unarmed, hapless hostages. Arafat's orders, issued from Beirut, were recorded by the Israelis. Both the State Department and the White House verified the authenticity of the tape but did nothing to follow up.

Much has changed in 30 years. Since 9/11 we have been in an existential struggle against terrorism. Sure there wou;d have been squawking by some of our "friends" in the UN if we brought Arafat to trial. They would disregard the precedent of Milosevic and (almost) Pinochet, where the evidence of personal guilt is weak or non-existent. But our real friends would have admired our principled application of justice.

And if the squawking had become too loud, we could have turned over Arafat to the newly established International Criminal Court and watch its supporters squirm when faced with an open-and-shut case. It would have been a test of their hypocrisy and have confirmed the good sense of President George Bush in refusing to join the Court.

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