Calling Yasser Arafat a "hero" after his death is like calling "satan" an advocate for liberty. Although I would like to believe he had some redeeming qualities (even Hitler liked babies), the Chairman of the PLO hardly stands up to the standards set by such truly noble people as George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Jesus Christ, Ghandi, FDR, Lafayette, Thomas Jefferson, Cincinattus, Martin Luther King Jr., or even the legendary Saladin.
These truly great men were "great" because they appealed to our better natures and elevated mankind by showing us that we can be better people. They were heroes because they represented what is good and best in all of us, and gave us honorable examples of decency and compassion to follow.
Arafat failed on all those levels. Although hailed as the symbol of the so-called "Palestinian people" he was little more than a calculating thug and a brigand. Instead of peaceful resistance, or even resistance marked by attacks on what would (and could) be considered legitimate "military targets," his tactics were based on hatred and marked by encouraging little children to become human bombs in order to murder innocent men, women, and babies.
Although, in the twisted logic of some, such attacks may have served to heighten interest and support for the "cause" he espoused, Arafat was really was little more than an agent of evil. Largley because of him and the tactics he choose to emply, Mohammedism is now a despised religion and even its most peaceful and decent practitioners considered potential threats to national security.
That is the legacy of a short-sighted policy of a short-sighted man, and represents his greatest failure. Had he the courage to peacefully resist and promote the cause he thought valid, the so-called "Palestinians" (who only existed as a 'people' after the 1967 Six Day War) may well have found a homeland by now. Their majority-faith would not now be the subject of suspicion, and their actions today could have been hailed, instead, as being truly demonstrative of the best in humanity.
Tragically, they don't. Whether because of the attacks against innocent civilians, numerous airplane hijackings, or the events of 9/11, a large part of the murderous evils perpetrated in the name of "Palestine" and "Islam" can be tied (and rightfully so) to the man justifiably called the "godfather of terror."
A truly great man and hero, however, would have found another and more noble way. That, unfortunately for the cause he espoused, was something Arafat could never be. Now, after his death, after all the murders charged to his guilty soul, I pray that genuine peace and understanding flourish in the Middle East and throughout the world.
IF it can't, Yasser Arafat will have won his greatest, and most base, battle. The hatred, violence, and misunderstanding that is his REAL LEGACY, therefore, will go on until, in God's good time, He chooses to raise up a man truly great in spirit, great in vision, and great in love. Arafat, however, was not that man and only a foolish, uniformed, and desperately wicked person would think otherwise.
Sincerely,
I.M. Ulysses
SEE VIDEO: http://www.honestreporting.com/arafat
SEE ALSO: http://www.pmw.org.il
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