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Four Fingers · 10-09-2003, 06:30 AM

Or so they say.

Following the discussion surrounding the Road Map to Peace in the Middle East, Bush declared that he'd pressure Israel to leave all occupied territories, but only after the Palestinians form a semi-democratic government. Yassir Arafat, the self-confessed totalitarian leader of the Palestinian Authority, believed it was in his interest to comply - or at least create the illusion that he does.

In complete disregard to actual democratic practice, Arafat himself appointed the "democratic prime minister." Nonetheless, the Americans were satisfied with the appointement of this PM, Abu Mazen (known to non-Arabs as Muhammed Abbas). While he used to take part in terror activities against Israel, he was considered different from Arafat in that that he never cooperated directly in acts against America or Jordan. Further more, he was always considered moderate in his views, and was one of the chief advocates of peace talks with Israel.

Interestingly, neither the Americans nor Yassir Arafat seemed to care what the so-called Palestinian people wanted. Indeed, the Israeli goverment dismissed Abu Mazen's administration, saying it's nothing less than "Arafat's puppet show." A couple of weeks later, Abu Mazen resigned from his position as Prime Minister. The PA blamed Israel and the US, although in Palestinian circles fingers were pointed at Arafat's people, who refused to pass any power or authority to Abu Mazen.

Next in line was Abu Ala. Alas, I don't know how his non-Arab name. Abu Ala struggled a bit harder than Abu Mazen. He was ready to give up on certain responsibilties, and even offered alternative goverment formations. Nothing worked. Today - just an hour ago, as a matter of fact - Abu Ala issued his resignation. This time he didn't even bother to blame Israel or the US.

In my opinion, this shows that either 1) the Palestinian people are too weak in character to demand a goverment consisting of their own representatives, or 2) that Arafat is too strong a dictator to allow anyone to challenge his rule. Either way, I recommend to all the tilted forumers who can see the correlation between democracy and peace, to unanimously support Israel in this conflict.

It is obvious that both the Jews and the Arabs want peace. But while the Jews elect their leaders, the Arabs do not.

10-09-2003, 06:30 AM	#1 (permalink)
Four Fingers Crazy	Palestinians Choose Their Own Leaders Or so they say. Following the discussion surrounding the Road Map to Peace in the Middle East, Bush declared that he'd pressure Israel to leave all occupied territories, but only after the Palestinians form a semi-democratic government. Yassir Arafat, the self-confessed totalitarian leader of the Palestinian Authority, believed it was in his interest to comply - or at least create the illusion that he does. In complete disregard to actual democratic practice, Arafat himself appointed the "democratic prime minister." Nonetheless, the Americans were satisfied with the appointement of this PM, Abu Mazen (known to non-Arabs as Muhammed Abbas). While he used to take part in terror activities against Israel, he was considered different from Arafat in that that he never cooperated directly in acts against America or Jordan. Further more, he was always considered moderate in his views, and was one of the chief advocates of peace talks with Israel. Interestingly, neither the Americans nor Yassir Arafat seemed to care what the so-called Palestinian people wanted. Indeed, the Israeli goverment dismissed Abu Mazen's administration, saying it's nothing less than "Arafat's puppet show." A couple of weeks later, Abu Mazen resigned from his position as Prime Minister. The PA blamed Israel and the US, although in Palestinian circles fingers were pointed at Arafat's people, who refused to pass any power or authority to Abu Mazen. Next in line was Abu Ala. Alas, I don't know how his non-Arab name. Abu Ala struggled a bit harder than Abu Mazen. He was ready to give up on certain responsibilties, and even offered alternative goverment formations. Nothing worked. Today - just an hour ago, as a matter of fact - Abu Ala issued his resignation. This time he didn't even bother to blame Israel or the US. In my opinion, this shows that either 1) the Palestinian people are too weak in character to demand a goverment consisting of their own representatives, or 2) that Arafat is too strong a dictator to allow anyone to challenge his rule. Either way, I recommend to all the tilted forumers who can see the correlation between democracy and peace, to unanimously support Israel in this conflict. It is obvious that both the Jews and the Arabs want peace. But while the Jews elect their leaders, the Arabs do not. __________________ "Always do right - this will gratify some and astonish the rest." Last edited by Four Fingers; 10-09-2003 at 06:33 AM..