Ajami on Arafat

Perhaps it's overkill. But with so many unable to call Arafat a terrorist, I think it's important to emphasize those who identified him properly. Here's Fouad Ajami from "A Juggler Par Excellence":

The world indulged Yasser Arafat, gave him plenty of room to maneuver, showered him with aid and money, and graciously offered him a place of prominence in the great diplomatic game. (The oddest gift, given Arafat's wayward ways and his habitual resort to terror, was a Nobel Peace Prize, which must surely stand as the supreme irony of his legacy.) Arafat took the world's indulgence as his due. He took the money of the princes and monarchs of the Arabian Peninsula and the Persian Gulf--but sided with Saddam Hussein when the order of princes came under attack in the first Gulf War. He took the "hospitality" of Jordan and Lebanon--but scrupled not at all when it came to bringing ruin and bloodshed to those lands. He could forever hoodwink the Europeans, who were all too willing to believe the legend of his moderation.

There are many who call Arafat "cunning" or some similar adjective. But it was less his political skills that made him successful than the world's indulgence. In a sense, Ajami's eloquence undermines his argument a bit here. The outrage is not so apparent. But like most of Ajami writes, it is well worth reading.
Crossposted on Israpundit and Soccer Dad.

Posted by David Gerstman at November 17, 2004 05:39 AM