Zinni Gives Up On Arafat

IsraelNationalNews.com ^ | 12/11/01 | Staff Writer

[monkeyshine]

Well, the quote hasn't been denied, and Arafat's actions indicate that the quote was true (that is, his actions indicate that he can't be trusted and that it might be better to negotiate with others). Also, no denials from Zinni, no retractions, and most importantly not a word from the USA regarding Israel's decision to ignore Arafat. All this indicates that Zinni has either concluded that Arafat is worthless and sent this info on to his bosses, or that the White House/State Dept has sent word to him that Arafat is now to be ignored.

Now, here is mind bender for you... presuming that the quote was true, how much influence did his conclusion that Arafat is worthless have on the decision to attack the bus in Emmanuel?

[Dog Gone]

Interesting question, but since you wrote that post the US has come out with a statement that it will continue to deal with Arafat. Which, incidentally, was exactly opposite of what I predicted a couple of posts ago.

I doubt that Zinni's comments triggered the bus attack. I think some planning went into that attack and that it was something in the works for at least a couple of weeks.

But I may just give up trying to figure out the Middle East. Every time I think I have a handle on it, something surprises me.

[monkeyshine]

After the meeting, Gen. Zinni told the media, "I have never encountered such lack of trustworthiness in my life... It's a waste of time to try to reach a serious agreement with Arafat." source

[Dog Gone]

I'm not sure what this proves. That's a feature piece that isn't a news source. For all we know, the writer lifted those quotes from this thread.

[monkeyshine]

Yeah, I just thought I'd put it up here as part of the record. And for the record, the opinion piece does say that the quote was announced to the media, which is more info than we originally had. Perhaps I should send an email to the toogood reports like I did to Artuz Sheba.

[Dog Gone]

And for the record, the opinion piece does say that the quote was announced to the media, which is more info than we originally had.

I took that as poetic license by the writer, because he was heavily engaged in spinning facts to make his point. The impression he gave was almost of a news conference, and there's no way that's accurate.

It would be nice to get some closure on this, because I'm still scratching my head wondering what was said and in what context. If you hear back from them, please let us know.

[monkeyshine]

My email to toogood reports:

I read with interest the article by Eugene Narrett, Ph.D in which he writes (3rd paragraph) "After the meeting, Gen. Zinni told the media, "I have never encountered such lack of trustworthiness in my life... It's a waste of time to try to reach a serious agreement with Arafat."

Many of us on the freerepublic.com website have been in a heated discussion over whether General Zinni actually made such a remark. You can find this discussion here: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/fr/588232/posts?page=465

The only news source we have for this story comes from an Israeli radio website called Artuz Sheba which can be found linked at the top of the above link. However, that news source does not say that Gen. Zinni made a public announcement. Dr. Narrett, however, claims that Gen Zinni made the statement to the media.

I wrote to the editor of the Artuz Sheba website and he/she responded but did not clarify the context of the remark other than to say that it appeared in several papers which I could not access or read.

Does Dr. Narrett have any further information regarding this quote? I would much appreciate a reply. I will post your reply on that thread, but as I did for the editor of Arutz Sheba I will redact your name to respect your privacy.

[smith288]

Hi all! Can I clear my position on my introducing God into this thread. Usually something like bringing in Jesus on an Israel/PA conflict thread kills it, but I guess I got lucky! ;)

Anhwhoo, I only meant to clarify MY position on the whole issue. Israelis are Gods chosen people and Arafat wants total annihalation of Israel. Thus my opinion. His assertion that Jews dont see Jesus as their salvation somehow makes them just as evil ( i guess thats what he meant) cropped the anti-semitism up. I side with Israelis and the Jews. They are my friends and they want left alone.

In other news...I cant believe Fenian is STILL whining about an article posted that isnt in line with his idealogy. It has gotten funny.

[monkeyshine]

for the record, Zinni is quoted again, see this thread: Zinni: PA is a mafia and Arafat is its leader