Arafat's Legacy

Read today's LA Times to see how Yasser Arafat's long shadow influences the Fatah-Hamas tensions that have Gaza teetering on the brink of civil war. Rather than build up stable security institutions that would've outlived him, Laura King explains how Arafat chose a different approach:

In life, Arafat was able, though barely, to keep a lid on Palestinian infighting. He played one powerful lieutenant against another, cracked down hard on unruly factions and bought fealty with large and largely untraceable sums of cash.
But Arafat's moderate-minded successor, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, has neither the inclination nor the dictatorial powers to intimidate security chiefs into unquestioning loyalty. And with government salaries unpaid for more than two months, thousands of gunmen are ready to sell their services to whoever can offer them a paycheck….

A united Fatah army could easily dominate Hamas, but Fatah commanders have individual scores to settle with one another and don't always come to their comrades' aid in confrontations with Hamas.

Red flags abounded throughout the Arafat years.

Posted at 01:17 PM