November 8, 2002. Copyright, 2002, Graphic News. All rights reserved

Key players in Middle East melting pot: Yasser Arafat, Palestinian Authority
By Joanna Griffin

LONDON, November 8, Graphic News:  Yasser ArafatÕs overt backing of Saddam Hussein in the Gulf War cost him friends and funding. So enraged were the Saudis that they immediately cut off financial support to the Palestinians. Scenes of ArafatÕs followers dancing in the streets after Saddam fired Scud missiles on Israel did not enhance the Arab leaderÕs profile on the world stage. So the fact that, after the Oslo Peace Accords, Arafat won the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize jointly with IsraelÕs Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres, is an indication of his considerable charisma and perhaps the much mentioned ÒslipperyÓ quality that has enabled him to survive so long. 
Throughout a career that has veered between terror tactics and diplomacy, cooperation with Saddam has been fairly constant. For 30 years Arafat and Saddam shared a common enemy in Hafez al-Assad, the late president of Syria. Of course, there are inherent dangers in any close collaboration between these two. The extent of their collaboration is not known but the Iraqi leader is reported to reward the families of suicide bombers in the West Bank, and there have been reports that the two leaders have shared intelligence about strategic targets in Israel. It suits Saddam to play up his links with the Palestinian cause as he scours the region for support against the U.S. and its allies, and this year he offered Arafat a safe haven while Israeli troops laid siege to his headquarters. The U.S. wants Arafat to crack down on West Bank terrorists but is uncomfortable about Israel fighting its own battle under the umbrella of WashingtonÕs Òwar on terrorÓ. For all these reasons Arafat, the grizzled guerrilla leader who is down but not out as a symbol of the Palestinian cause, is a useful friend for Saddam to have.
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