Bush "War On Terrorism" Now a Big Joke: "Arafat Is Not A Terrorist" (Japanese News Report Breaking)

In Japanese (Kyodo News, Tokyo) ^ | 2 April 2002 Japan Time | Kyodo News Service

[AmericanInTokyo]

Breaking. Japanese headling says "USA Government Does Not Consider Arafat a Terorrist"

Briefly attributes the stated policy to a 'high-level press spokesman' in the Bush Administration. (Probably Fleischer).

Short dispatch in Japanese just now. Breaking fast.

[AmericanInTokyo]

GO to asahi.com, or yomiuri.com, or mainichi. Try TBS TV and a slew of other places. You should be able to find plenty about what Japan did, written by journalists in Japan. There is a particularly good book out in Japanese by a Japanese professor about the horrors of Unit 721 in Manchuria.

[AmericanInTokyo]

Blind loyalty devoid of all objectivity emotes irrationality.

[Wphile]

Just heard a report from Major Garrett (CNN - sorry, I know) and he reported that Bush has said that the Bush Doctrine does not apply to Arafat because he has, according to Bush, negotiated for peace in the past and has agreed to the Tenet plan, etc.

Seems pretty incoherent to me. Let's see...he agreed to the plans but hasn't acted on them. So despite the lack of action on Arafat's part, it doesn't matter. Hmmmmm. I must be missing something.

He also reported that Arafat has time to meet the bar of leadership which Bush has set and seems, to me, to be unbelievably low. I guess at this point the bar is for Arafat to denounce the suicide bombers in Arabic. Whatever; our Mideast policy makes no sense to me.

[Dane]

You know bud, it's an amazing thing to watch the BushBots implode. There it is in black and white. People on the forum confirm that they heard Bush euqivocate with their own ears. It's a fact.

Actually it is funny watching you implode, with your ignorance of Israeli politics. It is easy to be a keyboard commando, and yell and scream, that is what ignorant people usually do.

There has been little if any discussion of the situation(i.e internal Israeli politics), except for rants saying that Bush does not know what he is doing.

But you go ahead and "bask" in your made up "supeirority", while others actually look at the situation.

[paul544]

So Tokyo News said "Bush War on Terrorism is Now a Big Joke"?

No didn't think so. Way to be accurate.

[Dane]

Blind loyalty devoid of all objectivity emotes irrationality

Coming from you, I nominate that quote as the most ironic of the day.

[WatchOutForSnakes]

I'm afraid I have to agree with you. I also saw the Bush statement and he hem hawed around calling Arafat a terrorist. He did say he wasn't a terrorist because he was willing to negotiate. While I was watching that I was thinking this is not what someone serious about fighting terrorism should be saying. We're not serious yet folks, despite Afganistan and all the rhetoric, we are still not serious enough. I was hoping it wouldn't take another attack to make us really serious.

[Dave S]

Refer to #55 for what Bush really said in response to question from press. Note he didnt say that Arafat was not a terrorist. Those are your words as are the "big joke."

[ironman]

Sharpen up your facts a little. The USS Cole isn't a battleship. Since when has Arafat been the "head leader" of Hamass?

[DoughtyOne]

Aw, did D1 hurt poor little Danies feelings? Cry me a river...

Powell and Bush have been pulling the one two punch of demanding sensitivity and inactivity on Israel's part, for over a year. Israel has done it's best to comply. They even went so far as to not react to some very violent acts in order to pursue a peace process. They even went further and withdrew troops and tanks in order to signal their willingness to negotiate.

Condemnation of Arasplat has been neary non-existant until the last week, when it became obvious even for Bush and Powell that Israel could not be damanded to remain inactive any longer. But still they admonished Israel to think of the ramifications. The very gaul of these two. Frankly Dane, you've got an idiot for a President when it comes to Yasser Arasplat.

Israel has every right to state, "We're declaring war against Terrorism. Anyone who isn't with us is against us!" Those were some pretty meaningful words a few months back. How quickly some people forget!

[DoughtyOne]

One more thing...

Arasplat is Israel's Bin Laden. Is that a concept that excapes you as much as it has Bush and Powell?

[Dane]

If you're posting a translation from a foreign language news service, you get some leeway. If you post the actual headline and sandwich it, you get some leeway

Actually not. AIT inserted his own words to describe a headline saying that the War on Terroism is a big joke. He put his own bias into the headline, something the New York Times does everyday.

Now there have been replies on this thread about the different aspects that are happening in Israel and those replies have been largely ignored.

AIT had an audience, frothing at the mouth reactionaries, and that headline was directed at them.

[WatchOutForSnakes]

No offense, but I'm tired of "looking at the situation". Either we mean what we say or we don't. If you harbor terrorist, you are a terrorist. If we don't mean it then don't say it. As Brit Hume said on Fox News Sunday, not only should we be supporting Israel in their fight against Arafat, we should be fighting with them.

[Dave S]

While I was watching that I was thinking this is not what someone serious about fighting terrorism should be saying. We're not serious yet folks, despite Afganistan and all the rhetoric, we are still not serious enough. I was hoping it wouldn't take another attack to make us really serious.

Read what he actually said again in #55. You will see that there is an implicit threat to Arafat. If he doesnt get back to Mitchell and Tennant, stop the suicide bombings, and negotiate, there will be nothing to keep him from being called a terrorist and then the Israelis will be free todo whatever they wish. Right now, the Israelis are not certain what do with Arafat. Why paint Bush into corner policy wise just so you can state the obvious. There is no benefit to the US calling Afafat a terrorist at this point unless it just makes you feel good.