Nobel Laureate to MIss Date with Martyrdom

Robert Tracinski calls the impending death of Yassir Arafat a tragedy -- because it will be from natural causes. My only problem with that way of looking at it is that I didn't think of it first. Granted, his flea-bitten admirers would have called anything violent a "martyrdom." Anything, that is, except, say, a well-deserved execution by a bullet dipped in pig fat! This may sound barbaric, but consider that this was the method of choice of none other than John J. Pershing. [Update: I have subsequently learned that this story may not be true.] It is quite an elegant way to deal with thugs who believe their own religious excuses for committing murder. The genius of his method is that he let one of his captives witness the execution and then escape. Word of this fate caused a marked lack of enthusiasm for further terrorist activity in the Philippines nearly a century ago. Call me insensitive, but open season on Islamofascists began on September 11, 2001.

With no successor, the death of Yassir Arafat promises some degree of chaos in the short-term. But then, his presence has afflicted both Israel and the people he rules with the violent and spectacularly unsuccessful intifada. While there may yet be a civil war on the non-Israeli side of the security fence, there is always the hope that better leadership will fill the void left by this vile, filthy tyrant. Only then will there be a real possibility of peace in the Middle East.

I recall, but I am not sure where, that the television broadcasts of the American triumph in Iraq, complete with grateful men kissing pictures of our President had a huge psychological impact on America-haters in the Middle East. It was even referred to as their 9-11. I also remember hearing how disappointed in Saddam Hussein some Arabs were when we aired film of him being checked for lice after his ignominious capture. Perhaps, for similar reasons, we should make it clear to Islamofascists whenever possible that Arafat's death will have been unbecoming for the leader of the al-Aqsa Martyr's Brigades. Terrorism "works" to the degree that it does partly because news coverage gives the brutality propaganda value. When a coward like Arafat hands us a propaganda opportunity like this, we should use it. After all, if his life is so precious, why aren't the lives of the people he sends to their deaths?

-- CAV

Updates

2-20-06: Added update on Pershing.