Posted on 12/11/2001 6:54:58 AM PST by veronica
American mediator Gen. Anthony Zinni, who met with Yasser Arafat yesterday, said about him, "I have never encountered such lack of trustworthiness in my life."
He said it was a "waste of time to try to reach a serious agreement with Arafat," and will concentrate on talking with other top figures in the PA - probably a reference to Muhammad Dahlan, Jibril Rajoub, and others.
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon breakfasted today with the European Union's Javier Solana, expressing his satisfaction with the EU's call for the dismantling of Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
The EU's statement of yesterday also called upon Israel to freeze settlement activity in Judea and Samaria. Sharon said that Israel is anxious to fulfill another EU request by easing some restrictions upon the Palestinian population, but "the unceasing terrorism makes this difficult."
Now, here is mind bender for you... presuming that the quote was true, how much influence did his conclusion that Arafat is worthless have on the decision to attack the bus in Emmanuel?
I doubt that Zinni's comments triggered the bus attack. I think some planning went into that attack and that it was something in the works for at least a couple of weeks.
But I may just give up trying to figure out the Middle East. Every time I think I have a handle on it, something surprises me.
I took that as poetic license by the writer, because he was heavily engaged in spinning facts to make his point. The impression he gave was almost of a news conference, and there's no way that's accurate.
It would be nice to get some closure on this, because I'm still scratching my head wondering what was said and in what context. If you hear back from them, please let us know.
I read with interest the article by Eugene Narrett, Ph.D in which he writes (3rd paragraph) "After the meeting, Gen. Zinni told the media, "I have never encountered such lack of trustworthiness in my life... It's a waste of time to try to reach a serious agreement with Arafat."
Many of us on the freerepublic.com website have been in a heated discussion over whether General Zinni actually made such a remark. You can find this discussion here: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/fr/588232/posts?page=465
The only news source we have for this story comes from an Israeli radio website called Artuz Sheba which can be found linked at the top of the above link. However, that news source does not say that Gen. Zinni made a public announcement. Dr. Narrett, however, claims that Gen Zinni made the statement to the media.
I wrote to the editor of the Artuz Sheba website and he/she responded but did not clarify the context of the remark other than to say that it appeared in several papers which I could not access or read.
Does Dr. Narrett have any further information regarding this quote? I would much appreciate a reply. I will post your reply on that thread, but as I did for the editor of Arutz Sheba I will redact your name to respect your privacy.
Anhwhoo, I only meant to clarify MY position on the whole issue. Israelis are Gods chosen people and Arafat wants total annihalation of Israel. Thus my opinion. His assertion that Jews dont see Jesus as their salvation somehow makes them just as evil ( i guess thats what he meant) cropped the anti-semitism up. I side with Israelis and the Jews. They are my friends and they want left alone.
In other news...I cant believe Fenian is STILL whining about an article posted that isnt in line with his idealogy. It has gotten funny.
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