Palestinians rejoice at US "defeats" in Iraq

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Preacherman

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From the Jerusalem Post (http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/A/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1048476621443):

Mar. 24, 2003
Palestinians rejoice at Saddam's "victories"
By KHALED ABU TOAMEH

There were many smiling faces in Ramallah Monday as Palestinians celebrated the capture of American and British soldiers by the Iraqi army.

"This is a big day for the Iraqi people and all the Arabs and Muslims," says a mustachioed Palestinian policeman in green uniform at Yasser Arafat's battered headquarters in the city.

"Everyone here was happy when to see pictures of American soldiers in Iraqi custody. This is a big blow for Bush and Blair. I don't believe they will be able to continue with the war now that many of their soldiers are being killed or taken prisoner."

One of his colleagues in Force 17, Arafat's presidential guard, who is also dressed in a military outfit and carrying a Kalashnikov rifle, says he was so happy when he heard the news of the capture of the US soldiers that "I felt like kissing all the people around me."

He adds: "Saddam has once again proven that he is a great leader, a defender of Arab rights. His men are brave. They have been able to teach the American and British dogs an unforgettable lesson. The Iraqis are much better at war because they have more experience. The American and British soldiers are cowards and spoiled kids."

At the Manarah Square in the center of Ramallah, the mood was one of euphoria. "They have just shot down two Apache helicopters," an excited merchant shouted hysterically as he ran out of his shop. "This is unbelievable. The Americans are losing the war. Iraq is going to be Bush's Vietnam."

The square, which has become the scene of daily pro-Saddam demonstrations, is decorated with Iraqi flags and posters of Saddam Hussein. Palestinian policemen in plainclothes direct the traffic and are on the lookout for undercover IDF soldiers who frequently infiltrate the city to arrest wanted activists.

Most shops and cafes have television sets where people gather to watch live reporting from the battlefield. The two most popular stations are al Jazeera and its new rival, the Saudi-owned al Arabiya. The streets of Ramallah were nearly deserted as people gathered around TV sets to watch the Iraqi president's defiant speech in the morning.

A few minutes later, a group of some 50 girls dressed in green and white school uniforms march toward the Manarah Square carrying placards denouncing the US "aggression" on Iraq.

"Oh beloved Saddam, bomb, bomb Tel Aviv," they chant as passersby and shopkeepers greet them with the traditional Islamic battle cry of Allahu Akbar (God is Great).

As they march through the streets, the girls, some aged less than 10, urge the Iraqi leader to eliminate Israel: "Oh Saddam, we love you, why don't you annihilate all the Jews."

The girls also vent their anger at the US President George W. Bush and pro-Western Arab leaders. "Bush, soon Saddam will bury you," and "[king] Abdullah [of Jordan], your people don't want you, we hope you will follow your father," are some of the slogans they shout as they wave Iraqi and Palestinian flags.

Many Palestinians said that for the first time since the war broke out, they are finally able to walk around with a sense of pride. "Until yesterday [Sunday], the feeling here was bad," says a Palestinian journalist. "But when the pictures of the American prisoners and bodies of soldiers were shown on TV, there was a lot of excitement. It's very moving to watch Arab soldiers taking defeating American and British soldiers and killing them. Saddam is now more popular than ever. The people here adore him. The feeling here is that Saddam has restored Arab confidence and dignity."

Zuhair Karajeh, a 42-year-old laborer, is eating humus and falafel in a small restaurant when the TV set hanging from the wall screens footage of Iraqi villagers and militiamen brandishing their rifles in victory and joy next to a US Apache helicopter.

"The Iraqis are very brave and we are proud of them," he adds as he takes a sip from a hot cup of tea with nana. "An old man with a rifle was able to shoot down one of the world's most advanced helicopters. Did you see Bush's face when he was talking about his prisoners last night? It was great to see this big devil almost breaking into tears."

Like many Palestinians, Karajeh does not share the view of in the West that Saddam Hussein is a dictator. "I would like to see Saddam as the leader of the Arab and Muslim world," he proudly declares as other diners nod their heads in agreement. The only dictator is Bush, who has waged a war against the Arabs and Muslims."

Hasan Kamleh, 37, a hotel receptionist, says he expects the war to end soon because of the US and British casualties. "The Americans and the British can't put up with the losses," he explains. "They will have to end the war ahead of time because they are losing too many soldiers. Honestly, I didn't believe that Saddam stood a chance, but when I saw the bodies of the American soldiers, I understood that this is a war which the Arabs could win."

The sense of triumph and pride is also reflected in the Palestinian Authority's media. "On the fourth day of the war, Iraq has presented to the Arabs and all the peoples of the world proof that it is possible to defeat the US," states Hasan al Kashef, a respected columnist and senior PA official. "On this day, the Arabs and the rest of the world have come to learn that the US is not the all-mighty superpower that is capable of doing anything anytime. Iraq has proved that surrendering to the will of the US is the result of impotence, miscalculation and a lack of will."

Cartoons ridiculing American soldiers and depicting them as cowards appeared in Monday's Palestinian newspapers. Al Quds, the largest Palestinian daily, ran a cartoon showing an American pilot hiding in the bushes next to the wreckage of his plane. The panicking pilot radios President Bush to tell him that he sees a thousand Iraqis holding Kalashnikov rifles, but none of them have brought him roses and gifts.

Another cartoon in the PA's official organ al Ayyam depicts a frightened American soldier reluctantly marching toward Baghdad carrying a coffin draped with the Stars and Stripes. The message is that the American soldiers will return from Baghdad only in coffins.
 
Israel will not be secure with a growing Arab population on the West Bank.

The Jordan river is a natural border and the Arab population should be relocated to the EAST BANK of the Jordan river.
 
Now can everyone see the BS Israel has been putting up with for decades from these jerks?

I don't think their cause is wrong, just that they manage to alienate any possible sympathy and support with their attitude and tactics.

Both parties are in the wrong often enough, but Israel at least plays by some sort of rules.
 
I said it before, and I'll say it again. 9/12, the Israelis should have lined up every bulldozer in the country on the green line and driven to the river... but then nobody listens to me.
 
what upsets me is that THESE are the people that most of our "peace movement" folks are supporting. I can think of some FAR more deserving groups for our symapthies. Many of them would even be GRATEFUL. And i bet that most of them WOULDNT try to kill us all given half the chance.

And ill grant that neither side of the israel conflict has clean hands in this. but, i would lay REAL heavy odds that we arent going to see a bunch of jews flying a plane into any of our landmarks anytime soon. So my position is still pretty stable on who im supporting.
 
The TV forgot to show the fields of dead Iraqi soldiers in front of our people.

They also didn't mention what appears to me to be the execution of our POW's.

While I hate to see our people take it in the shorts, casualities are a part of war, although abuse of prisoners is not normal in our world.

Read a bit: given the environment that they created, and, hopefully W's view of it, the cessation of bombing of retreating formations will NOT happen in this war.
 
While crap like this seriously pisses me off, I'd like to point out that this isn't the word of ALL Palestinian

But for those that believe this way, I wouldn't shed a tear for any of them if they got shot or bulldozed to death.
 
I'm still hoping these will turn out to be a small minority. But either way, thank goodness we went out and gave public support to a Palestinian state, eh?
 
USA to Yasser Arafat.....When we get finished with your buddy Saddam Hussein, YOU ARE NEXT

///END
 
"Everyone here was happy when to see pictures of American soldiers in Iraqi custody. This is a big blow for Bush and Blair. I don't believe they will be able to continue with the war now that many of their soldiers are being killed or taken prisoner."

Just goes to show what kind of coverage and spin Arab TV is putting on this.

Iraq is on the receiving end of one of the most one-sided stompings in military history, and these Palestinians think Uncle Sam is losing because they've seen a handful of American POWs. :rolleyes:

These Palestinians have no idea how the war is actually going; they're fed nothing but propaganda about "American setbacks" and "tough Iraqi resistance" and "bombing civilians" from Pro-Arab stations like CNN and MSNBC.
 
I take great comfort in the knowledge that militant islamic scumbags currently occupy as much space on this earth as they ever will. They have reached their apex, and will never be allowed to multiply beyond the bounds of their current holdings. With the liberation of Iraq, their holdings on this earth are on the decline. What you hear is the final gasp of a doomed culture.

It is game over for these people. No more screwing around.

- Gabe
 
*psst* Hey, bozos, you might wanna check out local news for what's happening in Basrah.

Want some mustard on that crow sandwich?

LawDog
 
Just remember that any Palestinian who is a member of the PLO or affiliated with them still operates under a charter calling for the destruction of Israel. They never changed it and they never will.
 
They never changed it and they never will.
Never? There ARE those in the PA who do wish to live with a "two-state" solution. There IS an internal struggle in the PA about whether or not they should live in peace with Israel (of course, unlike in Israel, a legitimate government, where such debates are generally handled politically with occassional exceptions like the Rabin assassination, Palestinian groups tend to duke it out with guns to settle such disputes). The recent stand by many in the PA (in fact from Arafat's own Fatah) against Arafat in the issue of a real prime minister with real powers as a rival to Arafat is a clear example that different opinions do exist among the Palestinian leadership.

Among the general population, the desire to live in peace with Israel has fluctuated with the circumstances. After Oslo, the majority of Palestinians were optimistic and were supportive of the two-state solution (living in peace with Israel). When they begin to feel that Israel was delaying the "final status" talks, that sentiment began to turn (similarly, a majority of Israelis supported Oslo initially, but when the suicide bombing campaign began to emerge as a "negotiating tactic," that sentiment turned sharply - enough for many to begin to favor either a unilateral withdrawal/separation or a forced mass-expulsion).

We need to be careful about stereotyping an entire group of people. After all, just because Saddam and his henchmen are dispicable gansters, does not mean that we should line up bulldozers and run over every Iraqi home, to paraphrase someone's previous post.

One also needs to be careful about discerning the true nature of a particular newpaper's coverage of "popular demonstrations." After all, there were Iraqi "popular demonstrations" against the US policies earlier (before the war), but no one believes that such demonstrations truly reflected the feelings of all or even most ordinary Iraqis. But it'd be easy for a newspaper that has an interest in portraying Iraqis as anti-American as possible to American readers to interview a few "popular" demonstrators to "prove" that all Iraqis are anti-American.
 
Okay, I will modify my statement. They may change it after the current leadership is dead. The "hero" Arafat said he would change it during peace talks with Israel, and then promptly gave speeches calling for the extermination of Israel. Arafat's subordinates have openly stated that many of the suicide bombings were being carried out by his organization and in his name. Has he done anything to stop it? Not hardly. In fact, the last time the Israelis hit his compound, they found wanted terrorists staying there.

As for the PM having real powers, Arafat retains the power to fire him. A basic principle of law is that if a person can be terminated (pun intended) then he's not independent. So the new PM is a joke.
 
One of the reasons they hate us....

....is clear is we read the first post about the palestinians.....I did a paper on this recently and it suprised (well not really) me to read about all of the media outlets in the Mideast and spout lie after lie about the US. When we went into Somalia to prevent geniocide and mass starvation, we were not motivated by morality, but greed for oil. The fact that there is no oil in Somalia made little difference to the liars who published it in their papers and on TV, but many people in that region of the world are fed nothing but lies.
Disgusts me to no end...but what can we do about it. This thread is an example of the lies that are being spread about this war.
It amazes me to think that Sadaam is a hero to these people....well he does give money to the families of suicide bombers......
One of the sources for my paper was an article by an Egyptian who was on his nation's supreme court.....he said that there is a battle for the hearts and minds of muslims around the world.
In my opinion as long as there are liars over there who wish to vilify us to achieve their own goals of domination, we will probably lose that battle
BSR
 
As for the PM having real powers, Arafat retains the power to fire him. A basic principle of law is that if a person can be terminated (pun intended) then he's not independent. So the new PM is a joke.
We shall see. However, you have to understand that "paper" power has little meaning in that part of the world. A lot depends on 1) guns and 2) perception of power. There is a considerable amount of resentment against Arafat and his leadership among the Palestinians. As the new prime minister gathers more power to himself and supporters, he may begin to emerge as a serious rival power to Arafat - whom Arafat cannot simply dismiss on a whim without risking serious popular repercussions against him, particularly if the new PM becomes more successful at negotiating with Israel.
One of the sources for my paper was an article by an Egyptian who was on his nation's supreme court.....he said that there is a battle for the hearts and minds of muslims around the world.
In my opinion as long as there are liars over there who wish to vilify us to achieve their own goals of domination, we will probably lose that battle
Not so. The Soviets were spreading lies about their own society and ours ("decadent, exploitative, imperialist," yada, yada, yada), but eventually even most Eastern Europeans began to believe our media, not theirs (esp. the Voice of America).

One of the reasons was, of course, we put some resources into operations like the VoA. We haven't done so in the Middle East, and are paying some costs for it.

So far, we have lost the "hearts and minds" war to the extent that we have declined to join the battle. Matter of fact, we allied ourselves with regimes (notably the Saudi monarchy) that channeled and deflected their internal dissent (originating from their bad rule) toward anti-Americanism with a wink ("Oh, we don't really mean it, we are just entertaining the radicals").

That will have to change if we are to win the "hearts and minds" war.
 
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