Arafat has passed.

If you listen quietly you can here shouts of glee all over the world for the demise of a leader blamed by many of these folks for the problems faced by the palestinians. Sharon must be licking his chops, thinking of the opportunities that this power vacuum might provide. Bush will likely state that all is good now that a terrorist is dead. He will probably offer platitudes of hope that the new palistinian leadership see the writing on the wall, and that it is in their vested interest to "play ball". Cooperation and capitulation will be requested in editorials all across the land.

We may soon discover, that as bad as Arafat may have been, he might have been more responsible than we know for keeping a lid on the more militant factions in the occupied territories. Speculation, sure. But it is beginning to look like the old saw about "the enemy you know...." is increasing in relevence, esp in the Middle East. In any event the Body of the Arafat is on it's way home. Note to self, take a look at LGF.

The body of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has begun its final return to the Middle East from the Paris hospital where he died early on Thursday.

Mr Arafat's coffin, draped in the Palestinian flag, was taken by helicopter to a French military airport, where a ceremony was held.

His body was then put on board a plane bound for Cairo, where his funeral will take place on Friday.

The Palestinian Authority has declared 40 days of mourning.

Members of the French government attended the ceremony at Villacoublay airport, described by the BBC's Allan Little in Paris as a semi-state occasion.

A military band played a funeral march as Mr Arafat's coffin was carried to an Airbus plane bearing the livery of the French republic.

I am sure that the freepers will be all over the french, for this display of respect for the de-facto leader of a people still striving for self determination. I fear for the good people in the region who will invariably dealing with incresed instability. A lesson that one could learn from the Isreali Palestinian conflict if they bothered, is that terrorism can not be defeated at the point of a gun. Strap yourselves in folks, I fear that the wild ride has just begun.