SEE NO EVIL (Continued from p.3) Arafat was directly responsible for the murder of two American diplomats, U.S. Ambassador Cleo Noel and his deputy, George Curtis Moore, in Khartoum in 1973 (the CIA has a recording of the telephone conversation wherein Arafat ordered their Black September kidnappers to kill them, and in 1985, the State Department confirmed that the U.S. was seriously considering extradition proceedings against Arafat); the 1978 killing of American Gail Rubin, the niece of then Senator Abraham Ribicoff (D-Conn.), on an Israeli beach; the 1985 murder of wheelchair bound American Leon Klinghoffer on the hijacked cruise ship, the Achille Lauro; to name just a few. So the apparent refusal by Attorney General Janet Reno to investigate the possible involvement in another terrorist attack where six more Americans were killed, is politically, perhaps, understandable. Technically, the WTC bombing occurred before Oslo when Arafat was still a terrorist chieftain, even according to the Americans. So it is not unusual that he would meet with other arch-terrorists like al-Tourabi, but why care about the WTC bombing where his involvement may have been peripheral at best? V. DON'T SPOIL LUNCH The problem is that a "thorough investigation" as requested by Senator Spector, might recall to peoples minds Mr. Arafat's long terrorist record, at a time when

evidence keeps popping up that he never abandoned his murderous path. And this is not a good thing for the Clintons when they have Arafat over for lunch at The White House next time, while continuing to pressure Netanyahu to ignore Arafat's negotiation-by-terror-and-violence tactics today. This is particularly critical to President Clinton now when Arafat is publicly backing the PA declarations, and apparent actions, in the killing of Arabs who may have sold land to Jews. While State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns finally issued a belated condemnation of the Palestinian Authority for openly declaring the death penalty on Arabs who sell, or sold, land to Jews, he stopped short of implicating Arafat personally, and of course, no word has been heard from Mr. Clinton regarding "confidence building measures" that Arafat can do to convince Israel of his commitment to the peace process. Speaker of the House of Representatives, Congressman Newt Gingrich (R-GA), perhaps said it best, when he openly took President Clinton to task in a speech before the annual conference of AIPAC on April 9, 1997, in Washington. The Clinton administration does not distinguish between the aggressor and the victim, he said. Instead of pressuring Arafat, The White House prefers to pressure Netanyahu. "There is extraordinary danger," Speaker Gingrich declared, "in treating terror and democracy equivalently. There is extraordinary danger in placing the burden on your friends, because you are scared to tell the enemy the truth." Yedidya Atlas is a Senior Correspondent for Arutz 7 Radio, and comments on geopolitical affairs in the Middle East.

Outpost               - 4 -               June 1997