July 15, 2003

UK rejects Arafat isolation calls

The UK Government has rejected Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's appeals for Britain to break off relations with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.
[...]
After the meeting with Mr Straw, British officials said Mr Arafat was an elected leader [Just like Saddam was elected and his idol Stalin, too.--Jen] and the UK would continue to deal with him where it was appropriate.
[...]
In an interview with two UK newspapers ahead of his visit to London, Mr Sharon urged European leaders to avoid contacts with Mr Arafat.

"Every act of this nature only postpones the progress in the process," he said.

"By that they are undermining Abu Mazen (the Palestinian prime minister)."

Arafat an "elected leader?" What piffle!
Of course, this slap in the face to Ariel Sharon should surprise noone: both Tony Blair and his lovely wife Cherie love Yasser!
This sends Blair like a ping pong ball back into the court of Chirac and the weasels and against Bush (again).
When President Bush conducted the "road map" talks in Aqaba, he was supposedly speaking for all of the quartet--the EU (of which Britain is a dues paying member), the UN (ditto and they're on the Security Council) and the Russian Federation--and he chose to deal only with Mazen/Abbas on the "Palestinian" side.
While EU allies like Italy's Berlusconi have followed Bush's lead of ostracizing Arafat diplomatically, now Blair follows in the footsteps of Diplo-Frog Dominique de VILEpin in still recognizing the Baby Wipe Billionaire.
For Blair and the British government to take Arafat's side is truly defending the indefensible.
Arafat's nothing but a murderer.
Blair has so many wrong-headed notions and this love of Arafat is one of them!
(I can't think why he backed our just war of liberation in Iraq, but I'm glad he did! It was the only right thing he's done that I know of.)
Poor Ariel Sharon: to travel all that way to be affronted.
Well, the Lord God Jehovah is on your side, Mr. Sharon, along with a lot of other Jews and Christians like me!