Tuesday, May 06, 2008

Another part of Bassam Abu Sharif's biography of Arafat: A Lousy Man on a Lousy Man. Indira Ghandi on lousy Yaser `Arafat: "The problem of chairman Arafat is that he relies a lot on, and trusts too much, the countries of Arabia and the gulf. He should be careful and be prudent. They just don't like him." I did not like him either (nor do I like them of course). But the biograher of Arafat, one of the most braggarts and sleaziest of the PLO leaders ever, Bassam Abu Sharif, also tells the story of how he was hated by his comrades in the PFLP. He also tells the story of asking to meet with King Husayn. He called him in London asking for a meeting, and then says: "I stayed in my bed [after hearing his voice on the phone] thinking. How modest and amicable he was. How happy I was for his prompt [return] call." This most corrupt character then tells a similar story: of calling while in London asking to meet with Shaykh Zayid. The protocol chief of Shaykh Zayid told him that you have 20 minutes only. Abu Sharif then said: "I hugged him, and he asked me to sit next to him....Shaykh Zayid is a sincere Arab in his nationalist positions and Palestine has a big and special position in his heart." In Shaykh Zayid's heart? Whenever I read Bassam Abu Sharif and hear him speak, I get a strong urge to puke. I detested him when I first heard him speak at the American University of Beirut. He met with a group of students and told them: only "us" the graduates of AUB understand. Or words to that effect. Read how this Abu Sharif apologized to King Husayn for criticizing his government. This is a man with the principledness of Walid Jumblat.