| Submit your comments on this article |
| Middle East |
| Arafat offers to halve security services in meeting with Tenet |
| 2002-06-04 |
| Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat presented a plan for reforming the Palestinian security services to visiting CIA chief George Tenet today, with the Palestinian leader proposing to halve their number and tighten supervision. Hell, yeah! Shooting every other one would be a great idea! The make-over is part of a broader reform package sought by the United States, which has called for greater democracy in the Palestinian Authority and a more effective fight against militants carrying out terror attacks on Israelis. We'd also like them to be better looking, smell better, and learn Swedish. Who's keeping count of the number we get?... At Arafat's headquarters in the West Bank town of Ramallah, two dozen Palestinians protested against the Tenet mission, chanting "Tenet go home" as the convoy of the CIA chief drove into the compound. The protesters said they opposed US involvement in internal Palestinian affairs. Two dozen? That's the best they could do? Samoa could turn out more than two dozen! Iceland could turn out at least three. Did they make up for their poor numbers by exploding or something? Tenet met with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon for nearly two hours last night, speaking of reform in the Palestinian Authority and the "ways and means to bring an end to incitement and terror," diplomatic sources said. The two men did not issue any statement after the meeting at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem, which was characterized as a "security meeting" and an "intelligence exchange." Sharon was joined in the meeting by Avi Dichter, the head of the Shin Bet security agency, and IDF Chief of General Staff-designate Maj.-Gen. Moshe Ya'alon. Pretty high-powered meeting... Tenet, who met Defense Minster Binyamin Ben-Eliezer before meeting Sharon, is slated to travel to Ramallah today for a long-anticipated meeting with PA Chairman Yasser Arafat. Don't get too close, George. I don't think he's had a shower yet... Tenet is expected to ask Arafat to implement wide-ranging reforms in the Palestinian security apparatus, including streamlining the various organizations from 12 into three or four, under one unified command structure. In addition, Tenet is expected to discuss with Arafat the Palestinian High Court's decision yesterday to release Ahmed Saadat, leader of the Palestinian Front for the Liberation of Palestine, from jail in Jericho. Oh, you mean the latest instance of bad faith? |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |