Freedom Fighter or Terrorist:
Ding Dong, Which is Dead?

In the early morning hours of
Remembrance Day, Yasser Arafat passed
away in a Paris hotel at the age of 75,
nearly three decades to the day that he
stood before the United Nations General
Assembly and said “In one hand I carry a
gun, in the other an olive branch.”

The leader of the Palestinian
Liberation Organization (PLO) for four
decades, Arafat was considered the father
of the Palestinian people by all, and a
murderous terrorist by many. However,
there is no disputing the impact he has
had in the Arab world.

Rising to power shortly after the 1967
war that saw the Palestinian territory
divvied up between Israel, Egypt, and
Jordan, it was Arafat who took over the
PLO and orchestrated a number of suc-
cessful attacks against the Israeli army. In
the deeply fractured Arab world, the
Palestinian plight was forgotten by the
nations that now champion Arafat as a
freedom fighter. Imprisoned in Syria and
persecuted by Egypt, Arafat was an irri-
tant in charge of a disenfranchised
people.

Then in 1973, Egypt and Syria simul-
taneously attacked Israel during Yom
Kippur. Israel, which is indisputably the
toughest pound-for-pound nation in the
world, stood up to the surprise attack,

G | ObnePPPess

News Wears Short Shorts

Brandon Ferguson, News Editor

fought back, and beat Egypt and Syria
down. Arafat knew then that his cause—
the expulsion of Israel from Palestine’s
pre-1948 land—would never be achieved.
At most, he hoped for a small percentage
of their land back, and in 1974, went to
the UN to plead his case.

Make no mistake: Arafat is a murderer.
However, given the number of wars
fought in the Middle East over land,
greed, and hatred, it can be argued that he
was the only murderer working for an ide-
ology of freedom.

Arafat’s biggest mistake, besides the
headdress—sunglass combo, was turning
his back on Bill Clinton’s peace agreement
in 2000. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud
Barak was prepared to accept, and Arafat
did not want in until two years later when
Barak was out and the hard-lined Likud
party was in power.

Although Arafat’s death brings with it
“new hope” for a peaceful resolution to
the ongoing Middle-East crisis, it seems as
likely as those morning-after promises to
never drink again. What is certain is that
one of the most enigmatic figures of the
20th Century is dead, along with so many
other promises and dreams.

Two Dead in Trans-Canada Tragedy

In more “was this the worst day to
remember dead people ever?” news, a

 

horrific crash occurred on the Upper
Levels Highway in West Vancouver,

resulting in two deaths and four injuries.
At around 2:30pm on Remembrance
Day, a logging truck headed west to the
ferries lost control when it hit the right
median, spilling its 30-tonne load of old-
growth logs into oncoming traffic. The
logs, some of which measured six feet in
diameter, rolled over the divider and

crushed or hit five cars in the eastbound
lanes. A 25-year-old woman and her 53-
year-old mother succumbed to injuries
sustained.

One of the four injured people had
been released from Lions Gate Hospital
by the weekend, while three others
remained in hospital with non-life threat-
ening injuries.

The stretch of highway is known as a
dangerous spot, despite a fairly safe track
record. It’s that crazy hairpin turn
between the Capilano Road and Taylor
Way exits—the one that your girlfriend
always freaks out on whenever you drive it
like the Mario Andretti that you are. The
driver of the truck, Perry Pelletier, has a
clean record over the 17 years he’s been
driving big rigs. He has worked for
Chalwood Forest Products of Port
Alberni for the last seven months. It is
unknown at this time whether charges will
be filed, though investigators are looking
into the black-box recorder that they
recovered from the truck.

Pelletier was visibly upset at the crash
scene, aS was everyone present. Traffic
was stopped entirely as that stretch of the
No.1 was shut down well into the evening.
Witnesses rushed to the aid of the vic-
tims. One woman who was on hand said,
“It was not a very pleasant sight. We did
the best we could. A number of passersby
just stopped. It was quite amazing. People
just jumped in and did what they could.”

On average, five people are killed in
accidents involving logging trucks each
year in BC. Naturally, this accident will be
probed, and inquiries will be set up, and
maybe signs will be put on lawns. It és

West Vancouver,
and they love see-
ing themselves in
the news fighting
"causes that only
rich and bored
people ever seem
to fight. But this
was a devastating
accident, and if
you saw the images
on TV, you felt sick
to your stomach
and your thoughts
went immediately
out to those you
know in the area.
While the inves-
tigation continues, our thoughts and
prayers go out to the family and friends of
the victims. And I’m really glad you’re
okay, Carly Curls.

Fight for Fallujah al-Most Over

In a weeklong offensive in the holy city of
Fallujah, US and Iraqi forces have
regained control of 80 percent of the city
from the insurgents who held it (as of last

weekend). The fight, which is the largest
since the invasion last year, has killed
1,000 insurgents and captured another
200. Quite the kill-to-capture ratio, or, if

 

you will, the shoot-first-ask-questions-
later ratio. Twenty-two Marines and five
Iraqi National Guardsmen — (or
Guardspeople, once democracy kicks in)
have also been killed in the battle.

Fallujah has been an insurgent strong-
hold since the beginning, and is the
believed hiding place of the new Bin
Laden, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. A previ-
ous battle in April ended in a stalemate.
Now, with the US election over and the
Iraqi election scheduled for early next
year, the time was right to “Continue until
we have broken their backs and their spir-
it,’ according to US Lt. Gen. John Sattler.

It was believed that Fallujah was home
to 2,000—2,500 insurgents when the
assault started. However, al-Zarqawi and
his top aides have not been found yet.

A massive military build up began
some weeks ago, as the US forces pre-
pared for this offensive, waiting for the
word to come from Iraqi interim Prime
Minister Iyad Allawi to begin. Game plans
were made and artillery and soldiers were
assembled, with all standing in wait out-
side the gates to Fallujah. Strangely, the
previously quiet North has suddenly
erupted in car bombings and attacks on
police stations in Mosul. But, as men-
tioned, al-Zarqawi is nowhere to be
found. Hmm...it’s almost like they knew
you were coming.

Although it is important to rout the
insurgents and ensure a safe and peaceful
election process, it seems odd that only 22
Marines have been killed while over 1,000
Iraqis are dead. How bad are these insur-
gents at aiming? And what the hell is an
insurgent anyway—someone with “al- in
their name?

If so, look out Donal-d Rumsfeld and
George Wal-ker Bush.

november § 17/2000