Sometimes gangsters can be reformed and made "respectable." But as the "Godfather" movies tell us, if you do evil, then it makes you evil.
The Mafia had a code of honor and resorted to killings to keep family face. In contrast, the Islamofascists don't carry about such piffles as honor and rules of fair play. They just want every one who has not converted to Islam dead. We'll wish we had the days when we had only the Italian crime families back in the news to deal with. Compared with the Jihadists, those were a civilized bunch.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." -Manuel II Paleologus
If we are now aware of who Arafat was, talking out both sides of his face as he did, there are those within our government who knew who he was for a long, long time. There is no excuse, except that he was one of our "designated villains", therefore allowed to live.
It makes me think our state department likes "playing the game" a lot more than they like "solving the problem".
Can you say, "Job Security"? Or maybe, "Arrogance"?