BY ATHORNLE@LAW.HARVARD.EDU
The latest ridiculous display (literally) by the United Nations: In response to Yasser Arafat’s death, UN flags flew at half-mast. This is general UN practice for the passing of the leader of a UN member country. But, as Friday’s (11-12-04) Wall Street Journal points out, Palestine is not a UN member; its UN status is that of observer. However, UN Sec. General Kofi Annan made an exception for a terrorist.
From both ends of the political spectrum — from the WSJ to The New Yorker — Arafat is being accurately portrayed as a terrorist. Reasonable people, regardless of ideology, cannot deny Arafat’s true legacy: He murdered innocents, and he terrorized without reservation (or regret). The last thing this monster’s memory should be accorded is honor. Yet that is exactly what the United Nations (and, for that matter, the French government) has given him. This is just one more in a long line of reasons these bodies do not deserve the deference of the United States.
Drew Thornley, 3L