US forces Israel to lift siege of Arafat
Apparently, when you're the defacto 51st state, you dance to the tune of the US government. The Israelis have once again been stopped short of what is likely their unstated goal- the demise of Yassir Arafat- under intense political pressure from the US. You'd think that those in the US government doing the pressuring would understand by now that Arafat is not the solution. He may not necessarily be the problem, but he at the very least is an enabler.
Israel pulled its tanks and soldiers out of Yasser Arafat's West Bank headquarters yesterday, under intense American pressure to end the 11-day siege because it was undermining its attempt to win Arab and other international support for an attack on Iraq.
But moments after Mr Arafat was freed from de facto imprisonment in his wrecked compound for the second time this year, he scorned, as "cosmetic", the withdrawal of Israeli troops by only a few hundred metres.
He said it failed to meet the UN security council resolution requiring the complete lifting of the siege.
Ariel Sharon met members of his cabinet and army officers yesterday to approve the withdrawal, after a confrontation with the White House.
A cabinet statement said the army would be pulled back from the compound, the Muqata, in Ramallah, but troops would be left in the area to ensure that terrorists inside Mr Arafat's headquarters - the official justification for the siege - did not escape.
The government said the decision had been made because of "the deep friendship between Israel and the United States" and its desire to do all it could "to enhance the strategic cooperation and relations".
Arafat has been allowed for too long to try and have it both ways- playing the diplomatic and terror cards. It is unconscionable that the US government is now the one standing in the way of Israel eliminating the problem once and for all. Until Yassir Arafat is made to disappear (this does NOT mean that Israel should kill him), nothing will change for Israel or for the Palestinians. It's time to let Israel finish the job- once and for all.
