Why Arafat lives on

I refer, of course, to Yasser Arafat, the self-proclaimed chairman of the Palestinian Authority. That's a question I am confronted with now on a daily basis as I continue to reveal the truth about the horrors Arafat has perpetuated on Israel, the U.S. and others since founding his nationalist movement in 1964. There is an easy answer to this question – and it's an answer everyone needs to understand. But, before I give it to you, I want you to grasp just how remarkable it is that Arafat has not only survived the last 35 years, but prospered from all the blood he has spilled. Since Arafat came to the world's attention in 1967, the U.S. has had eight presidents – Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George Bush I, Bill Clinton and George Bush II. Israel has had even more prime ministers. Democrats have run foreign policy in the U.S., and Republicans have had their turns. In Israel, the Labor Party has held sway, the Likud has had its days and various coalition governments have dealt with the "Palestinian problem." Even many Arab regimes have changed. Gamal Abdel-Nasser ran Egypt when Arafat emerged. Since then, we've had Anwar Sadat and Hosni Mubarak. Even Hafez Assad in Syria gave up the ghost during this period, and his son, naturally, assumed the Damascus throne. In Jordan, King Hussein has given way to King Abdullah. There's been a lot of change in the last 35 years – in the Middle East and around the world. Nevertheless, there has never been peace in all that time. It's about time we recognize the one constant in the equation during the last 35 years of Arab-Israeli conflict. One man at the center of the storm has been there from the beginning – killing, threatening, promising, cajoling, lying his way to power. His name is Yasser Arafat. How does he do it? Why do the Americans put up with him? Why don't the Israelis take him out? Why do elitists worldwide demand we pay tribute to him and recognize him as the sole leader of the Palestinian people? Why does he get hundreds of millions in international aid confiscated from taxpayers in the West? How is it that such a man, with such a bloody history, could win the Nobel Peace Prize? How could he be taken seriously? Why would anyone talk peace with such a violent extremist and immoral opportunist? I can give you the answer in two words: Saudi Arabia. Riyadh is the sponsor of Yasser Arafat. It is the Saudi sheikhs who pull the strings – not only of Arafat, but apparently of U.S. special interests leading right to the doors of the White House. There is simply no other explanation for it. Remember Bush's famous speech about terrorism – how other nations would have to decide if they were with the U.S. or with the terrorists? Saudi Arabia has been exempted from that policy. Arafat, too, has received a get-out-of-jail-free card. There's a different standard in place for the terrorism directed at Israel by Arafat and his primary sponsor, Saudi Arabia. Terror against Israel doesn't count. In fact, just this week, Arabic news agencies reported Riyadh has paid out at least $33 million to families of Palestinians killed or injured in the 18-month-old uprising. And, yes, that includes money paid directly to the families of suicide bombers and other terrorists killed in action. Similar payments by Iraqi President Saddam Hussein have drawn sharp rebukes from President Bush and other U.S. officials. But, once again, the Saudis get a free pass. Why? Do I really have to answer that question? Oil talks or Americans walk. And that's why we still have Yasser Arafat killing, stealing, terrorizing and lying with apparent impunity 35 years later.