"By refusing to punish him for horrendous crimes, as a serious nation would, Israel leaves the world, the Arabs, and itself with the sense that maybe his crimes can be justified, and its own attempts to restrain him from further criminal acts are criminal excesses in themselves. Israel would do better to relentlessly show the world pictures of Arafat's victims, including the American ambassador he assassinated."
This is a very articulate and perceptive article, and I think it highlights the West's problem with dealing with irrational evil. We've seen it over and over again: the demand for "dialogue" with people who do not abide by rationality, the demand for "understanding" when it comes to the most vile acts.
If we are serious about the war on terror, we must punish those responsible. It's really that simple. If we do not, there will remain a sense that the acts themselves are justified and that restraint is itself immoral. We cannot allow that to happen, and that is why Arafat must be held responsible for his acts and pay for them with his life.
I would really like for our President to declare arafat a terrorist and give a green light for his capture because, from where I sit, he indeed, is a horrible terrorist who is willing for children to strap bombs on themselves in order to kill others. Very sick, that. So, unless our President has information we don't, it seems to me, no matter WHO takes over after Arafat, it is time to call a spade a spade and do some serious routing.