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September 12, 2003DON’T EXPEL ARAFAT—NAPOLEONIZE HIM
There is no doubt that if Arafat were assassinated he would soon become a great hero/martyr. His post-assassination posters would show him not as short, fat and ugly, but as tall, strong and handsome. He would be smiling, and words would be attributed to him which he never uttered. He would become a leader of the most dangerous kind—a symbolic leader, unconquerable and unflawed. If he were exiled he would be able to command the attention of media, followers, and powerful people wherever he went. He would be able to recruit money, political support, and jihadists, and eventually he would be smuggled back into Israel or Syria to control and support the insurgency. If he were jailed he would become another Mandela—a great man languishing and mistreated in a prison controlled by his cruel warders. He would become the object of admiration and concern of all the freedom-loving intellectuals of the world. He would be interviewed lovingly by every half-assed poet/journalist in France, and would appear regularly on the cover of the New York Times Magazine. A better model for dealing with major political troublemakers springs to mind—Napoleon. If Israel owned a little island in the South Atlantic like Great Britain’s St. Helena, that would be the place to send him. If it were feasible to arrest Arafat and try him for crimes against humanity like Eichmann that would be one solution. But even if that were not a possibility it would still be desirable to indefinitely detain Arafat for political reasons. The purpose for his detention would not be punishment but only political isolation. He would not be imprisoned but housed in comfortable surroundings, fed well, and medically looked after. He would be treated as a valued guest of the Israeli Government. But he would be guarded constantly in an isolated part of the country. He would not be allowed to use the telephone or any other direct form of communication, even mail. He would be allowed only official visitors such as the Red Cross, or a UN official to see that he was being treated well. The point is not to hurt him or punish him, only to isolate him politically. Of course there would be an uproar in the world for five or six months but if Israel stays the course the uproar would eventually subside and maybe with Arafat out of the picture another political dynamic might develop. Posted at 03:39 PM by
 
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Well, Israel could rent Devil's Island from the French. It would give the Primus Inter Pares of the Axis of Weasels a way to contribute constructively, and a little revenue besides. And they're not using it any more...or so they claim.
Posted by: Francis W. Porretto on September 12, 2003 05:01 PMI favor off-ing the bastard. While it's true he may become a martyr, it's also true that his continued presence among the living is a constant, daily affront to the memory of the thousands of Israelis and hundreds of Americans dead at his direction. As Adam Smith said: "Mercy for the guilty is cruelty to the innocent."
Posted by: Stephen on September 12, 2003 07:37 PMArafat is a monster. He was a monster in 1959, 1969, 1979, 1989,1999 and now in 2003. He is also incompetent (which is not a crime in itself). House arrest until he kicks off seems like a good deal. I always wondered why DOESN'T HIS SON volunteer for suicide bombing???
Posted by: Ricardo Munro on September 13, 2003 12:20 AMOh, I suppose he is too good for that. Perhaps he will be a new Palestinian Califa one day....
It offends me taht Arafish brethes the same air as the Israelis. Just get him out of there. An Arafat wandering the globe will not look anything but like a pathetic old man that he is.
Posted by: Joel on September 15, 2003 04:23 PMI go along with Yale, and while he's in "isolation" Israel should reoccupy every inch of land, raze the so-called refugee camps, forcibly expell terrorists and their families and restore control over all its borders. When the Arabs understand that Arafat is a failure and brought this fate upon them. they can have him. My bet is that they will hang him upside down a la Mussolini.
Posted by: RUTH KING on September 16, 2003 06:52 AMContinue to do what Israel was doing before they started bellowing that they were going to get rid of Arafat. Keep him isolated in Ramallah. It would be nice to grab Arafat and put him on trial, but unless the grabbing part was done via a successful(emphasis) commando raid in middle of the night, it would probably result in Arafat's death and matyrdom.
Posted by: David All on September 17, 2003 06:50 PMCase in Point:
In 1890 during the Ghost Dance episode among the Sioux Indians, the US Army decided that the elderly Sitting Bull
was the main force behind the Ghost Dancing and he should be arrested and removed from the resevation. To lessen the chances of violence, this was to be done in the middle of the night and by the reservation's Indian Police with several companies of US Regulars nearby to provide support. Unfortunately waking up Sitting Bull and getting him ready to leave for a protracted stay gave his followers enough time to surrond Sitting Bull's home and open fire on the Indian Police detactment. In the subsequent gun battle Sitting Bull was killed whether accidently or deliberately depends on which version you hear. Main result of this fiasco was that several bands of Sioux thinking the Army was about to attack them fled their reservations. A few weeks later the largest such group would be confronted by the US 7th Cavalry at a creek called Wounded Knee. I am not comparing the Palestinians to the Sioux Indians and Arafat to Sitting Bull except to point out that grabbing the leader of a trouble making group can go disastersly wrong no matter how good the preparations are.