How I wish that headline came from The Onion. [rquoter]Jimmy Carter Lays A Wreath at Arafat's Tomb Tuesday, April 15, 2008 12:07 PM Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter laid a wreath of red roses at the grave of Palestinian Liberation Organization leader Yasser Arafat during a visit to the West Bank City of Ramallah on Tuesday. "He and Mrs. Carter and his son Jeff wanted to pay their respects to President Arafat," Carter's trip director Rick Jasculca told Cybercast News Service. But the former president didn't make any comments there, he said. Dubbed the "godfather of terrorism," Arafat was linked to the deaths of two American diplomats in the Sudan in 1973 -- one of many terror acts laid at his feet. (See earlier story) Twenty years later, Arafat became the first PLO leader to sign a peace agreement with an Israeli Prime Minister -- Yitzhak Rabin -- in 1993. He was considered Israel's peace partner (although many Israelis never believed it) until the beginning of the violent Palestinian uprising in September 2000. Arafat managed the terror war against Israel until his death in 2004. U.S. officials have emphasized that Carter is visiting the Middle East as a private citizen and not as a representative of the U.S. government. On Tuesday, the Israeli government refused Carter's request to visit Hamas-controlled Gaza. The former U.S. leader has angered the Israeli government over plans to meet Hamas's top leader, Khaled Mashaal, in Syria on Friday. Most visiting American dignitaries -- including President Bush -- have avoided Arafat's tomb. Michaela Schweitzer-Bluhm, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem that handles Palestinian affairs, told Cybercast News Service that no active U.S. Executive Branch member had ever laid a wreath on Arafat's grave. Carter first met Arafat in 1990, when Arafat was leader of the Palestine Liberation Organization. According to a New York Times report, Carter praised Arafat as a peacemaker. Years later, Carter led an international team in observing the first Palestinian Authority elections that gave Arafat the presidency. (Carter also observed the 2006 elections that brought Hamas an overwhelming parliamentary majority.) Arafat was the most frequent visitor to President Bill Clinton's White House. President Bush also dealt with Arafat at the beginning of his presidency, but after the Palestinian leader lied to Bush in early 2002 about a huge shipment of Iranian weapons bound for the P.A., he was shunned until his death in November 2004. On Tuesday, Carter also had lunch with a dozen or so Palestinian civil society leaders and had what was described as a "wonderful round table" discussion with Palestinian youths that he and his wife enjoyed immensely, said Jasculca. As President Carter travels around the Middle East he is "eager to hear viewpoints" about peace and the peace process. "Instead of talking, he's doing a lot of listening," said Jasculca. [/rquoter]
I spent some nights in the mid-1960's at the King David Hotel, in Jerusalem, which was bombed in 1949 by a terrorist organization led by future Israeli Prime Minister, Menachem Begin. 91 people were killed and 45 wounded, many of the dead being British (28), Jewish (17), and Arab (41). So what's your point, basso? Impeach Bush.
It is good to see Jimmy Carter still trying to be a man of peace and even-handed. Too bad Israel will not allow Carter to visit Gaza. There needs to be more coverage of the wretched conditions in Gaza as a result of the Israeli rationing of food, water and electricity and other necessities.
Bash the guy that actually wants to negotiate and talk to all sides personally and equally instead of taking one side and providing arms to only one side while keeping the other oppressed. Impeach Bush.
Arafat has the blood of american citizens, and countless others, including those killed in munich in 1972, on his hands- carter shouldn't be honoring him in any way. or is he just one man's freedom fighter?
quite a contrast: "Bush Embraces Pope Benedict XVI"--headline, ABCNews.com, April 15 "Carter Embraces Hamas Official"--headline, Associated Press, April 16
I fail to see how he's much different from a Mandela or even Menachem Begin, both of whom were terrorists. Arafat is the single biggest personality in the history of the Palestinian people. Palestinians know that their 'cause' wouldn't even be on the map if it wasn't for Arafat; he literally put his people on the map and 'sold his case' to the world. Palestinians see him as someone who embodied their resilience and stubbornness in the struggle for self-determination. Whether we like it or not, he's the Palestinian 'Founding Father' who paved the way for them. So it doesn't surprise me nor upset me one bit that Carter -- a statesman -- would at least pay his 'token' respects to the Palestinian Theodor Herzl.
The funny thing I remember about this story is that apprantly Bush is setting up a whole little welcome party... Cept the Pope won't be there. He's too busy on other matters. *Sigh*...from French first ladies to the Pope, no one wants to be with Bush.
really? Cousin Jimmy (i can call him that, 'cause he's my cousin, albeit a distant one) embraced Nasser Shaer. Did Nasser win a nobel? no sir.
If Arafat had become a statesman at some point in his life, I would agree with you. But when he had his chance to "make peace with Egypt", the guy failed miserably because he didn't have the courage to lead his people in a new, positive direction. Both Begin and Mandela took their movements to brand new territories in diplomacy. Comparing Arafat to those two is crazy IMO. His leadership never approached their levels. The Palestinian Authority remained a sewage pond of patronage and corruption that was never reformed and when Arafat died, there was a sigh of relief (among even Palestinians) that he was finally gone so that brand new attempts at peace could go forward. By the time he died, Arafat had very few friends left among Palestinians, who were sick and tired of him. Of course, when he turned ill and after he died, his image among Palestinians was resuscitated out of respect. I understand your viewpoint and realize Arafat's place in the history of Palestinian Arabs, but Carter made a mistake.
Highly debatable that he ever even got the chance to 'lead his people in a new direction' that didn't mean compromising on the 'uncompromisable', but OK... Both leaders had the weight of the most powerful actors in the world behind them. They had 'legitimacy' before they even came to power, they had 'tools' to work with that Arafat never had and no Palestinian -- to this date -- has ever had. That's because history hasn't been written yet. Is it really that far fetched? Have patience... That's fine, it's your opinion and I respect it. But I am surprised that some posters here are far more annoyed by the fact that Carter paid a token visit to the grave of the former leader and founder of the current Palestinian president's party (Fatah) than they're about the fact that he's meeting Khaled Meshaal.
So, to be clear, you now support both Carter's & Rumsfeld's actions? It is big of you to admit your mistakes.
Statesmen try to negotiate peace between warring parties. Warmongers arm surrogates to keep their enemies at bay, without giving thought to their surrogate's own morality.
