Write his name(s) on the bottom of your shoes

As could be expected, the press is scrounging for soundbites about the overdue demise of Yasser Arafat, aka Abdel-Rahman Abdel-Raouf Arafat al-Qudwa al-Husseini, aka Abu Amar.  Here are some examples:

• "From guerilla icon to peace prize" - Aftenposten
• "Arafat, father and leader of Palestinian nationalism" - New York Times
• "Mr. Palestine" - the Guardian

Not to be outdone, official reactions run along the lines of:

• Afafat "came to symbolize the Palestinian national movement," according to Tony Blair
• Arafat's death was a "great loss to the Palestinian people," says Gerhard Schröder
• "With him disappears the man of courage and conviction who, for 40 years, has incarnated the Palestinians' combat for recognition of their national rights. May the loss that they have just suffered unite the Palestinians." - who else? Jacques Chirac
• "In him the Palestinian people, both within and outside the Palestinian Territories, have lost an historic leader and a democratically elected president, whose devotion and single-minded commitment to the Palestinian national cause throughout his life was never in doubt," is what the EU says
• Arafat "dedicated his life to the Palestinian people's just cause, the fight for their inalienable right to create an independent state, which would coexist with Israel within recognized and secure borders." - Putin
• And so on....

Weasel words, to be sure, but also blatant historical revisionism.  Let's be clear here:

A leader with a tenure as long as Arafat's should be judged by the results of his work.  And to wit:

• The Palestinian people have never been further away from realizing their national aspirations, and (even more tragically) basic human rights
• The Palestinian people are united only in one respect - blaming Israel for all their problems; but are divided in every other way. 
• The Palestinians are not only at odds with the Israelis; they are also estranged from the Arab world.
• Arafat frustrated every attempt at building institutions that would have stabilized Palestinian society
• There has never been a poorer foundation for a negotiated settlement than now, thanks to Arafat's rejection of proposals at Camp David and Taba.

Arafat deserves yet another name: "al-Nakba," the disaster.  History will judge him as a despot along the lines of Stalin, Pol Pot, and Fidel Castro.  When the Arab world has its enlightenment, Arafat will be the icon of the bad old days, along with Saddam Hussein and Nasser.  And then they will be right to ask the European leaders who glorified Arafat:

Why the FUCK did you patronize us?