Opinions on Arafat

It appears that Mr. Arafat’s widow is being well provided for in any case. Apparently she is to receive US$22 million a year to “cover her expenses” in Paris. (jpost.com/servlet/Satellite? … 0147302168)

Now I realize that Paris is an expensive city to live in, but $22 million still seemed high to me given that so many Palestinian people are living in poverty. So I decided to see just how much the package was compared to what the country produced.

Based on the Palestinian GDP numbers I found, at US$3 billion per year GDP(pal-chambers.com/federation/ … tors01.pdf) that $22 million is about 0.73% of GDP.

Using 2002 numbers for the United States, (internationalecon.com/v1.0/Finan … 5c040.html) it looks like Mrs. Arafat’s package is the equivalent of Nancy Reagan or Bill Cliton getting an annual allowance of $73 billion.

As far as I know, ex-presidents get around $166,000 per year from the government. Of course, US ex-presidents (and to a lesser extent their families perhaps) are able to make a fair amount extra money from speaking fees, book deals etc. So I’m certainly not saying US ex-presidents or their widows are suffering here. I’m just looking at how much of its foreign aid packages a poor nation feels it should spend on living expenses for an ex-leader’s widow.

If we look at what the government of each country thinks it can afford to give it’s former leaders, I come up with the following rough result:

If Bill Clinton, Nancy Reagan, Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford and George H.W. Bush all combined their government salaries, and then adjusted the GDP difference, they would only have to wait 87,952 years before they matched what Suha Arafat will get in year 1.

I can certainly get frustrated by the amount of money the US government wastes. But at least this figure makes me feel a little better anyway. When it comes to paying for “living expenses” for former leaders, it appears we spend about 0.001% as much as the Palestinians do. I guess it might not make me as happy if I were granting “aid” packages to the Palestinian authority under the impression that it was actually going to be used to help the Palestinian people though…

The EU gave money to Arafat; America gave money to Saddam. What’s the difference?

For a look at the events of Arafats life, CAMERA (Committee for Accuract in Middle East Reporting in A,erica) has a very interesting time line. I am quite amazed to see so many apologists for Arafats bloody reign of terror and submission. Quite amazed.


[url=http://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_context=7&x_issue=11&x_article=795]In order to report on Arafat’s history objectively, one must include his decades-long involvement in terror, his goal of destroying Israel, and his siphoning of hundreds of millions of dollars from money donated to help the Palestinian people that went instead into his own private accounts.

Yasir Arafat is known to many as the

The strange thing is, that though he obviously embezzeled shitloads and his wife seems to be doing not badly, he didn’t seem to live the life of luxury you would expect. Was he just not very good at spending money on himself, or was he having to use most of the embezzeled cash as bribe money, or some other explanation?

When Arafat

sorry to tell you, but i find all your remarks on arafats death at least inappropriate…
i mean all these (rot in hell, glad u re dead…)
even if you dont like it, arafat represented millions of people, he is not necessarily responsible of any wrondoings the palestinians did.
maybe you would like to say rot in hell you all palestinians…
but i am afraid thats not possible unless you are thiking of a genocide…
this man lived all his life humble and as a fugitive because the jewish never recognised his nation. He was always treated as a terrorist even that he was moderate and never agreed on violence.
all the rest is just jewish propaganda…
do not forget that palestinians outnumber the jewish in the region at least two times…
they cant be anation of terrorists… u cant name all the ones who want their freedom terrorist ----wake up!!!
and you all find the courage to call him terrorist# what about the jewish who kill everyday innocent women and kids…
is this justified? is there anyone who would dare to deny the jewish attrocities?
Who do you think that is to blame for this situation? the one who holds the automatic gun or the one who holds a stone?
According to the Jewish history(David Vs Goliath) its the first one…

[not addressed to me:][quote=“ipodamos”]sorry to tell you, but I find all your remarks on arafats death at least inappropriate…
I mean all these (rot in hell, glad u re dead…)
[/quote]

Well, Arafat betrayed the hope for peace of so many people. When there was a chance for peace he still financed suicide bombers in Israel. Please see my translation above. I personally do not use such words as Fred and others for a dead man, but I find myself saying them in my mind as well.

Right, Israel killed innocents too, so the world community accepted Arafat’s past as a terrorist (= freedom fighter for the other side) and believed he would walk on the road to peace together with Israel PM Barak (I think it was him those days). But… Arafat jumped out of the peace process.

Right, terrorist or freedom-figther, that depends on the view point, on which side you are on, as soon as mutual violence is happening. But finally Israel, US and everybody offered peace - but Arafat rejected one more time. So let us be cheerful he is dead. A tragical figure though, especially for his people who deserve a better leader.

Ah yes ipodamos, welcome to Forumosa and the IP forum. I think now you got Fred going … :smiley:

EDIT: and let me add: “freedom fighter” is inappropiate for Arafat even from the viewpoint of the other side, as he carried war and instability to other countries: Jordan, Lebanon and others.

I will bite. There are about 6.5 million people in Israel and of these 1 million are Arab. In the West Bank and Gaza there is a population of 2.25 million. So you have 5.5 million to about 3.25 million where is the double the population.

Given that most Jews were expelled from all over the ARab World, I for one fail to understand why the Israelis did not just expel all the Arabs and be done with this once and for all.

Finally, Arafat was personally resonsible for funding and promoting terrorism. He had several chances at peace with Israel but wanted it all not just Gaza and the West Bank. When Hitler gambled and lost people blamed him not the German people to a large extent. Arafat is the equivalent. ONly the Palestinians have not lost all their territories say in Prussia, Pomerania and Silesia as the Germans did and why not? Until 20 years ago they were Arabs not Palestinians. Now, suddenly they are Palestinians okay whatever. It is probably too late but this is a lesson to the Israelis. Mercy and Magnanimous actions do not necessarily earn you the trust and admiration of your enemies. In fact, I would say that this is a good plank for the road to hell is paved with good intentions thread. Now, Israel, you too must learn to live with your actions. Hope to see some progress on this now that Arafat is dead, but dont expect any kind words from me for that man, Stalin, Hitler, Mao or any of these other thugs.

you forgot around 3 million palestininians who live in Jordan, 450,000 in Syria, 450,000 in Lebanon and 100,000 in Egypt, all official numbers. In reality there are more than that. All of them expelled by the Jews.
I find Hitler’s example inappropriate. I think that Sharon resembles to Hitler more than Arafat. He has the weaponry, he has the craziness and the arrogance of the superior.
isint it sad when history is repeated in reverse?
About the issue that you raised: who to blame the leader or the people who support him? there is lots of food for thought here…

You mean expelled by the Zionists. Please desist from posting anti-Jewish comments.

I hope there is a Hell and that Arafat is now being sodomized by dead gay Jewish men. Well, Arafat might like that. Anyway, I hope Arafat is suffering now. If not, well, at least the scum is dead.

I think any civilized man would be insulted by any defence of Arafat.

Just my opinion.

When the Germans lost two wars they lost a lot of territory. When the Arabs lost five wars what did they lose? Almost nothing and they are whining that they want it all back. Tough. Call them Palestinians all you want, until 1994, they were still officially Jordanians. Now, suddenly they have this long history as Palestinians? Bullshit.

Arafat was trouble wherever he went. He started the civil war in Jordan and Lebanon before moving to Tunisia where he caused problems until he was kicked out and all the Palestinians were kicked out of the Gulf states for supporting Saddam. They have had their chance. If they are suffering it is their own fault.

Nothing to me is more ridiculous than all the idiots crowding around the bier of the man who robbed them blind and left them in the shithole they are today. This is someone that the Palestinians celebrate? Why? What did Arafat ever do for the Arabs, oh right, the Palestinians except bring them trouble and a propensity to send their kids off to become suicide bombers?

May the man rot ever so slowly before being burned in the very red hot fires of hell. I cannot eke out one tear. Now, that he is gone, maybe the Palestinians will wise up before it is too late and try to make something of themselves.