A recently declassified document by the US State Department reveals that Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Yassir Arafat was not always so peace loving (whether he ever was is something I leave up to each of your own individual judgments). On March 1, 1973, Arafat ordered the Black September Organization members who seized the Saudi Arabian embassy in Khartoum, Sudan, to kill the United States ambassador, his deputy, and a Belgian diplomat. At the time there was a diplomatic reception at the Saudi embassy honoring the departing US Deputy Chief of Mission.
It is interesting to note that another Peace Laureate who is today trying increasingly hard to play a part in the Middle East peace process, Jimmy Carter, considered Arafat a "dear friend." One might expect that, given this new information, Carter's legitimacy should now be undermined in the eyes of US government officials. Sadly, this probably won't happen, given the fact that this is not entirely a new story. In fact, Kenneth R. Timmerman reported on this event back in June 25, 2001, but never found many ears that were willing to listen. You can find his report on the following website: http://www.john-loftus.com/welsh1.asp.
Given the fact that it has always been preferred by top officials to see Arafat as a man wanting nothing more than peace, this would be news is really worth little more than a shrug. This is especially so now hat he is no longer among us. I mean, why tamper with a noble (or should I say nobel) martyr? Although Abu Mazen (President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas) has been accused of funding the Munich massacres, his slate record is virgin-like compared to Arafat's. Not to mention compared to that of any Hamas official. As such, I continue to place my hopes on Abbas, albeit skeptically due to the precariousness of his position.
It is interesting to note that another Peace Laureate who is today trying increasingly hard to play a part in the Middle East peace process, Jimmy Carter, considered Arafat a "dear friend." One might expect that, given this new information, Carter's legitimacy should now be undermined in the eyes of US government officials. Sadly, this probably won't happen, given the fact that this is not entirely a new story. In fact, Kenneth R. Timmerman reported on this event back in June 25, 2001, but never found many ears that were willing to listen. You can find his report on the following website: http://www.john-loftus.com/welsh1.asp.
Given the fact that it has always been preferred by top officials to see Arafat as a man wanting nothing more than peace, this would be news is really worth little more than a shrug. This is especially so now hat he is no longer among us. I mean, why tamper with a noble (or should I say nobel) martyr? Although Abu Mazen (President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas) has been accused of funding the Munich massacres, his slate record is virgin-like compared to Arafat's. Not to mention compared to that of any Hamas official. As such, I continue to place my hopes on Abbas, albeit skeptically due to the precariousness of his position.
The actual document from the Department of State can be found here: http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/67584.pdf
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