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Arafat Flees 'Arab
World' For Paris
'Wife' Returns from and quickly back to luxurious self-exile
Vultures Circle for Money, Power and Succession
MIDDLEEAST.ORG - MER - Washington - 29 October: There is often such pathetic symbolism surrounding Yasser Arafat even
as many of his people cling to his legacy as the 'symbol of Palestinian
nationalism' -- itself nearly as tattered and frail as the Grand Old Man has himself become.
For the past few years essentially imprisoned in his own Muktada
compound, within a barricaded and Israeli-surrounded city of Ramallah,
itself now within the apartheid 'separation' wall and the omni-present
military
occupation that has the impoverished remnants of his country carved
into fragmented and isolated pieces -- Yasser Arafat nevertheless
remains on the world stage much larger than life but also more
distraught than ever.
Always having to ask the
Israelis for 'permission' while sometimes turning for additional
permission to the Hashemite Regime in Amman, even at this historical
moment the Palestinian leader doesn't
go to an Arab hospital somewhere in the vast 'Arab world'. Rather
Arafat flies off to a western capital oblivious it seems to the
symbolic implications -- both
historical and modern-day.
Add to all this imprisonment, permissions, and fleeing, the image of
his 'wife' Suha Tawil 'returning' from her own self-imposed luxurious
Paris self-exile...not even having seen her 'husband' for many
years. Now she is scene after so long supposedly 'rushing' to his
bedside just in time to accompany him back to Paris where she herself
long-ago abandoned her own people as well as him.
Indeed, the vultures are now all circling closer eager to get the numbers and
keys to the secret bank accounts, competing to claim even in historical catastrophe the remaining legacy and legitimacy of
'The Old Man' should he pass from either the worldly scene or just the
political one.
Yet not a single one of those mentioned in today's Guardian
article -- except the one
the Israelis have in prison -- has any real personal trust and
legitimacy among
the Palestinian people. They are all known to be corrupt, quislings,
or thugs -- all creatures in fact of the U.S.-Israeli created
'Palestinian Authority' itself so responsible for having so badly
misled the Palestinian people to their more miserable than ever state
of affairs.
And
meanwhile Arafat's arch nemesis, the Grand Old
Man of the Israelis, the man with so much Palestinian blood on his
hands, the man long considered a war criminal and neo-fascist by so
many even of his fellow countrymen, must be gloating over all that is
now transpiring. Amazingly Ariel Sharon is even basking in
the
political glow of being complimented the other day by the U.N.
Secretary-General -- even as he further imposes the new Apartheid on
the Holy Land ensuring that no real Palestinian State west of the
Jordan will come to be, even as he further conspires with the Americans
to impose on the entire region the 'new world order' -- a Pax
Americana Israelica that all the Arab leaders of the region will be
charged in history with having allowed, and in far too many cases, with
having helped to bring to
be.
MER
Real battle of succession to be fought among younger,
homegrown generation
Ewen MacAskill
The Guardian, UK, 29 October:
Any
battle to succeed Yasser Arafat would be fought initially among the
older generation of Palestinian politicians and fighters who spent most
of their lives in exile with the president.
But
the real battle will be within a younger, homegrown generation of
politicians who were brought up and raised in the West Bank and Gaza.
Mr Arafat's
likeliest successors are Mahmoud Abbas, better known as Abu Mazen, and
Ahmed Qureia, known as Abu Ala.
The
new generation, leaders such as Jibril Rajoub and Mohammed Dahlan, may
make way for the two Abus this time round, with Mr Mazen possibly
taking charge of the PLO and Mr Ala as president of the Palestinian
Authority. But Mr Rajoub and Mr Dahlan will be preparing their
future
bids, as they have been for the past few years.
Marwan
Barghouti - another, more popular, member of that generation and the
most likely long-term successor - is still in jail in Israel.
Mahmoud
Abbas (Abu Mazen)
A strong
contender to become leader of the PLO, the 69-year-old would
be the US and Israeli choice, regarded by them as likely to crack down
on groups such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
He
was in exile with Mr Arafat in Tunis but ties between the two are
fraught and he refused to return to Gaza with Mr Arafat in 1994.
He
finally returned to the West Bank last year to become prime minister
but was too weak to stand up to Mr Arafat or wring concessions out of
the Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon. After four months, he
resigned.
Ahmed Qureia
(Abu Ala)
The 66-year-old
is a reluctant prime minister, frequently on the verge
of handing in his resignation because of interference by Mr Arafat.
Like
Abu Mazen, he is regarded by the Israel government as someone that it
could do business with. He was one of the architects of the Oslo peace
process.
Lacking
charisma, he has little support at the popular level. This left him
exposed during in-fighting with Mr Arafat this year.
He admitted this
weakness in an interview a fortnight ago with journalists.
He
said: "You have a president who is in prison and a prime minister who
is free and not free, who can move about but does not have the
authority to solve problems. I am not a professional politician and,
maybe, my skin is not thick enough."
Marwan
Barghouti
The 45-year-old
is the best known of the new generation of homegrown
Palestinian leaders. Unlike Abu Mazen and Abu Ala, he was brought up
and spent most of his life in the West Bank.
He
demonstrated his leadership qualities during the first Palestinian
uprising of 1987-1993 and is one of the main leaders of the second
intifada that began in September 2000.
He
opposed suicide bombings and other attacks inside Israel and advocated
confining Palestinian attacks to the West Bank and Gaza.
He
was captured by the Israelis in 2002 and is currently serving long jail
sentences after he was subsequently found guilty of multiple murders.
His
conduct during his trial and the fact he is in prison has helped boost
his popularity among Palestinians. He will almost certainly do well if
he chooses to stand as a candidate from his cell.
The
Israeli government will determine his fate. If the politicians believe
that Mr Barghouti is prepared to reach a deal with Israel, they could
release him early. If they decide he will cause more trouble, he will
remain in prison.
Mohammed
Dahlan
At 43, he is
another homegrown Palestinian, born in Khan Yunis, in
Gaza. Where Mr Barghouti's powerbase is in the West Bank, Mr Dahlan
seeks control of Gaza.
Arrested six
times by the Israelis, he was deported to Tunis, returning in 1993.
He
was in charge of the Palestinian Authority's security apparatus in Gaza
until he fell out of favour with Mr Arafat, who saw his reform
proposals as an act of betrayal.
He
is a polished political performer who is liked by the US, Israeli and
British governments. Britain last year facilitated study leave for him
in the UK while he was out of favour with Mr Arafat.
He
has made many enemies among fellow Palestinians, especially on the West
Bank. When British journalists asked Hakam Balawi, the Palestinian
interior minister, about Mr Dahlan as a potential successor, he was
emphatic: "No. No. A thousand times no."
Mr
Dahlan has continued to build support in Gaza, where the Palestinian
Authority has to contend for power with Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
Jibril Rajoub
Aged 51, he is
almost a mirror image of Mr Dahlan on the West Bank. He
was in charge of security in the area until he too fell out of favour.
He
was deemed by Mr Arafat to have failed to put up enough of a fight
against the Israeli incursion in 2002, especially his failure to remain
in the fortress-like police headquarters in Ramallah. He is now back in
favour.
Mr
Rajoub, like Mr Dahlan, is still in close contact with counterparts in
Israeli intelligence. Mr Arafat this month teased him, claiming he was
in secret talks with Ariel Sharon through his son Omri.
Mr Rajoub spent
17 years in Israeli jails. He also went to Tunis with Mr Arafat.
He is apparently
opposed to attacks on civilians, either in Israel or on Jewish settlers
in the West Bank and Gaza.
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October 2004
Iran Next - Part 1 (October 31, 2004)
In a few days the American election itself will be history. The likelihood is the Bush/Cheney/neocon regime will remain in power; hard as that still is for so many to imagine and understand. Should the Democrats win the White House Middle East policies will be largely in the hands of the neoliberals and the super money-men like Haim Saban who when it comes to the Middle East and Israel have far more in common with the neocons than has yet been realized by many who will vote for them. Whatever happens on Tuesday next the build-up to attacking and if at all possible regime changing Iran is well underway and the showdown increasingly imminent.
Osama, Bush, Kerry - Past, Present, Future (October 30, 2004)
Few Middle East realities have been heard during this long grueling American election campaign. Most of the rhetoric has been extraordinarily self-righteous and self-serving, disingenuous and dishonest. Sad and tragic as it is to have to say, for many in the Middle East and around the world beyond American shores, tactics aside, the words of Osama Bin Laden ring more true to their experience and perspective regarding U.S. foreign policy than those of either George Bush or John Kerry.
Fahrenheit 9/11 - Watch It On Your Computer This Weekend (October 30, 2004)
Who would have imagined on 9/11 more than three years ago now that the top front-page story in the Washington Post Saturday before the 2004 election would be a picture of Osama Bin Laden addressing the American people! Reality keeps trumping fiction time after time in our era!
Escalating War Against the World after November 2nd? (October 29, 2004)
Whether the Americans are lead by Bush and the neocons, or by Kerry and the neoliberals, the reality is that both of the great American political parties are today dominated by their super-hawkish Israeli-connected elements and that both are heavily mortgaged to major, however competing, segments of the Israeli-Jewish lobby in Washington.
ARAFAT - Pathetic Symbolism for the 'Grand Old Man' of the Palestinians (October 29, 2004)
There is often such pathetic symbolism surrounding Yasser Arafat even as many of his people cling to his legacy as the 'symbol of Palestinian nationalism' -- itself nearly as tattered and frail as the Grand Old Man has himself become.
Bush Uncensored; Cheney Unauthorized (October 28, 2004)
MAKE SURE TO WATCH THESE TWO VIDEOS
ABOUT GEORGE BUSH and DICK CHENEY
Gaza Scam + Dem Party Emails American Jews (October 27, 2004)
The price for the past political trickery has already been very high. The poison of the Israeli-Arab conflict has spread continually for decades now and played a substantial role in bringing about today's 'Clash of Civilizations' whose end is yet in sight. The eventual future price for what is happening these days threatens to be higher yet, potentially catastrophic.
IRAN Attack Imminent? (October 24, 2004)
Though few in the world may fully realize it, international society is now at a historic moment and the future, even a potential World War III, is in the balance. Hence the leaks coming from Washington from those trying to warn, and to prevent, what the top neocons and Israeli operatives are pushing hard to bring about. Hence last month's extremely unusual 'Israeli Spy Scandal' which had officials in the FBI charging people working on the Iranian attack in coordination with the Israeli-Jewish lobby with espionage for Israel. Hence, as this article by a former National Security Council operative suggests: "Intelligence circles report that both intelligence agencies (CIA and Pentagon) are in open revolt against the Bush White House." It appears to have been quickly written and then quickly internet published using LebanonWire in the Middle East.
Cheney Uncovered - An Unauthorized Documentary by the CBC (October 23, 2004)
Reporter Jean Heller presented Soviet satellite photos which did not show Iraqi troops amassed on the Saudi border to the Pentagon.
"It's what it (the photos) didn't show that's more important. What you expected to see were tanks on the border. There was none that we could see.
I said, look, if you can prove to me that our story isn't true, we won't run it. And they just ignored it.
They have never shown those (U.S. satellite images) photos. Not then and not since."
New CIA 'Shocking' Cover-Up (October 22, 2004)
Completed in June, mandated by Congress nearly
two years ago, the CIA Report that names names
is being suppressed until after the election.
"What all the other reports on 9/11 did not do is point the finger at individuals, and give the how and what of their responsibility. This report does that," said the intelligence official. "The report found very senior-level officials responsible."
Talk about American Imperialism and Chutzpah! (October 22, 2004)
The reaction in many quarters must be 'Oh My God'. Bill, Hillary, and Tenet all seek higher office! Talk about American Imperialism and Chutzpah!
The WARLORDS of AMERICA (October 21, 2004)
Regardless of what happens on 2 November in the U.S. election, one group or another of "the Warlords of America" will be in power in Washington. And the years now immediately ahead, regardless if the President is named Kerry or Bush, are quickly shaping up as likely to be the most dangerous in modern history.
America on the Edge (October 20, 2004)
The amazing thing about this American election is that in view of what has happened in the U.S. and in the world the Democrats should be running away with it -- and yet they are struggling everywhere and likely to go down to defeat.
Israel on Road to being Pariah State (October 15, 2004)
Indeed Israeli policies and attitudes have for some time now seriously poisoned political relations throughout the Middle East, substantially helped bring about the era of the 'Clash of Civilizations', and through the powerful Israeli/Jewish lobby in Washington pushed the United States into the invasion of Iraq and other militarist isolated policies whose dangerous and destructive ramifications will be felt for many years to come
The Next Generation of Palestinians (October 13, 2004)
If what has happened in Gaza in recent years would have happened in the USA (adjusted for population size) more than 100,000 Americans would have been killed and more than a quarter million homes destroyed by a foreign occupying army using battle tanks and attack helicopters against small resistance groups in cities and towns.
AMERICAN SECRET GULAG EXPANDING (October 14, 2004)
THE CIA has greatly expanded its activities throughout the Middle East including in Jordan and Egypt as well as Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and other countries throughout the region. Of course the CIA and the Mossad are working more closely together than ever to control the region and enforce what is now essentially the militarily imposed 'new world order' first announced during the current President father's days in the White House. Before President Bush I became President he was in fact the Director of the CIA, whose main headquarters is now named after him.
AOL Censors MER (October 20, 2004)
AOL -- one of the largest internet service providers -- is blocking and censoring MER. Persons who subscribe to MER using an AOL email address can not receive MER -- it is being secretly censored from their mailboxes by AOL without notice of any kind. It is believed persons working for AOL may be censoring MER in coordination with Jewish Zionist groups. It may be that AOL has a special relationship with Jewish.com and other Israeli-connected groups in some way. It is all being done in secret with no notice of any kind to either AOL users or MER.
A few of the messages we have received from AOL subscribers to MER follow:
Major Iraq Attacks on Hold Until After U.S. Vote (October 11, 2004)
The Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld made an unannounced visit to Iraq in recent days. And soon after the American election the superpower military will be much more fully unleashed throughout the country preparing to push the U.S.-appointed strong-man Iyad Allawai forward in the carefully staged 'election' that will proceed if 'conditions are right'. In other words, just as Hamid Karzai was U.S. -installed and then essentially U.S.-elected in Afghanistan, the same template is now planned for Iraq.
U.S. Forces IMF into secret Iraqi debt 'forgiveness' scheme (October 11, 2004)
But maybe most of all in the longer run, and unspoken now for all of these reasons by the powers that be, once Iraq's prior debt to other countries is 'off the books', the new U.S.-installed and CIA-controlled government in Baghdad is free to sign agreements with the Americans -- secret or otherwise -- that will essentially mortgage Iraq's future oil revenues to the U.S.A. and those it approves.
Chomsky on American Force and Pre-emption (October 10, 2004)
"Bush planners know as well as others that the
resort to force increases the threat of terror,
and that their militaristic and aggressive posture
and actions provoke reactions that increase
the risk of catastrophe."
IRAN - Targeted by U.S. and Israel (October 9, 2004)
You would think after the Iraq debacle that the ability of the U.S. to blackball, sanction, and then attack, occupy and regime-change another country would be considerable reduced. Not so however as this article in Z Magazine helps explain with regard to Iran. Indeed, soon after the American election the situation will quickly escalate.
The Debates - Fixed and Controlled (October 8, 2004)
The moderators -- both from the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) -- could have, and should have, asked hard, probing, unexpected questions like this:
Israeli AIPAC Spy Scandal - Update (October 7, 2004)
It was just a month ago that the latest Washington spy scandal involving the very heart of the Israeli-Jewish Lobby had everyone buzzing. Then it faded from view as the corporate media moved on, as CBS News which originally broke the story found itself under assault, and as the election campaign and debates took center stage. Interesting, not one question from the PBS moderators about Israeli spying, nor even about the U.S. veto of the Security Council resolution condemning Israel, nor the International Court of Justice decision doing the same. Here's an update -- however inadequate -- from yesterday's L.A.Times. Though the real heart of the story should be AIPAC and the influence, tactics, and status of the Israeli-Jewish lobby; instead they focus on just the individual and not as they should on the large group of support persons and organizations. This should especially include, of course, the current cabal of largely Jewish neocons in top positions...including the one who hired Larry Franklin (Douglas Feith), and the ones who hired him (Paul Wolfowitz and Richard Perle).
AOL Blocks and Censors MER Articles (October 6, 2004)
AOL is blocking and censoring MER articles because of pressures originating with Jewish and Israeli groups.
Emergency U.N. Security Council Meeting on Israel (October 4, 2004)
The Springsteen 'Vote For Change' Concerts (October 5, 2004)
"The press has let the country down. It's taken a very amoral stand, in that essential issues are often portrayed as simply one side says this and the other side says that. I think that Fox News and the Republican right have intimidated the press into an incredible self-consciousness
about appearing objective and backed them into a corner of sorts where they have ceded some of their responsibility and righteous power." - Bruce Springsteen
Israel's Peacenik - Uri Avneri: Realities (October 5, 2004)
"Uri Avneri, along with many Israelis and Jews, rightly fears that at some point Israel will be the direct target of blame for it's major contribution to having brought about such terrorism in the world and pushing the U.S.
into invading Iraq. It is an understandable fear;
for it is to a significant degree true."
Iraq is a "disaster...that will haunt the U.S. for decades" - Wall Street Journal Reporter (October 2, 2004)
Iraq is a "disaster" that has deteriorated "into a
raging barbaric guerilla war" that will haunt the
United States for decades.
The Passion of the Bush (October 2, 2004)
As the modern-day American-Israeli led Christian-Jewish crusade to remake the Middle East in the name of 'democracy and freedom' proceeds, this new documentary is telling indeed. It was first shown at the Republican Convention in New York a few weeks ago; and now, as a kind of Bush-loving counter to Fahrenhite 9/11, the DVD is being rushed out in advance of the upcoming election.
U.S. and Israel Prepare for Iran + (October 1, 2004)
Even as the two branches of the American political establishment semi-debated last night who would fight the new wars better than the other, even as U.S. and Israeli battle tanks and attack aircraft bombed and killed in Iraq and Palestine worse than ever, preparations to either force compliance or attack Iran, Syria, Hezbollah (Lebanon), Hamas (Palestine), and North Korea soon after the American election are fast proceeding at the Pentagon and the CIA.
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