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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: zonder who wrote (52179)	10/15/2002 11:10:34 AM
From: Nadine Carroll	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

Here's one link that Arafat was weaker and had agreed to elections That article was from May and called for elections within six months, which never happened. Since then Arafat made elections conditional on total Israeli withdrawal from Area A or all the territories (he hasn't been clear). Since even the first depends on a cease-fire, which Arafat has made no move to implement, that pretty well lets elections out. The Palestinians want reform, but they are not getting it from Arafat -- in fact, the only times Arafat has been forced to make serious announcement about reform have been directly in the wake of Israeli attacks, the same ones that so many of the usual suspects have decried as strengthening Arafat. Do you seriously think that Arafat's position is stronger today than it was two years ago? I realize it may be more difficult to try to win the Palestinian people (thereby cutting off support to terrorism) than just bulldozing the place. But in this case, what is more difficult is productive while the easy course is not. If you have any suggestions that don't play into the hands of Arafat and Hamas, I'd be glad to hear about them. But my point remains, that even withdrawing in favor of a Palestinian government will only improve Palestinian conditions if the Palestinian government is interested in improving Palestinian conditions. Arafat's PA was manifestly, completely uninterested in this. Did you ever once hear Arafat speak of the content of his proposed Palestine, not just its borders? About its governance or its economic development? I sure didn't. The only industries that Arafat developed were car-theft rings, extortion rings, and construction -- Arafat's cronies have been building the Jewish settlements.