Recently US Secretary of State Colin Powell visited the Middle East. The presumed reason for the visit was to attempt to negotiate a ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinians. If this was the reason for his visit then he failed. We believe, however, that he had another motivation for going and that was to rescue Yasser Arafat and to insure that the Palestinian Authority survives the present Israeli military action. In addition, we propose that Yasser Arafat and his Palestinian Authority serve as an instrument of US foreign policy in Israel. This may sound ridiculous but when all things are considered, it seems that this must be the case.

Arafat was brought to Israel as a "peace partner".

Yasser Arafat is a terrorist. He always has been one and remains one to this day. Every place that he has ever exercised any power has been plunged into destructive warfare. This is as true for Arab countries as it is for Israel. Arafat came to prominence in the 1960s as the leader of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) vowing to destroy Israel. After the Six-Day War in 1967, Arafat retreated to Jordan. The majority of citizens of Jordan are Palestinians. Arafat led a rebellion against King Hussein. In 1970, the Jordanian Army overcame Arafat and his band and expelled them. They, in turn, retreated to Lebanon. It took only a few years until a full scale war was ongoing in Lebanon. Because of constant attacks across the border, Israel finally intervened and drove the PLO into a corner in Beirut. At that time, the Reagan administration intervened to rescue Arafat. This happened in 1982. Arafat and his band of terrorists were surrounded; Israel was prepared to destroy them. Ariel Sharon was the Defense Minister at the time. Ronald Reagan called the then Prime Minister Menachem Begin and demanded that Arafat be spared. Arafat and his men then moved their operation to Tunisia where they rebuilt their strength. Finally, as a result of the Oslo Process, Arafat was brought to Israel as a "peace partner". The result is exactly what one would expect: the whole State has been plunged into a great upheaval. The Israelis are once again attempting to eliminate Arafat and his regime of murderers.

In 1982 it was Ronald Reagan who intervened to save Arafat. Prime Minister Menachem Begin reluctantly agreed. Mr. Begin soon realized that he had compromised his life's work and almost immediately slipped from a leadership position. At any rate, Arafat survived due to American intervention. In 1988, US Secretary of State George Schultz met Arafat in Geneva, Switzerland. Schultz coaxed Arafat into making a declaration that he accepted the right of Israel to exist. By this Arafat supposedly renounced terrorist efforts to destroy Israel. Obviously, we now know that Arafat was lying but, by making the statement, he became useful to US foreign policy. Later, at the Madrid Conference in Spain following the Persian Gulf War, Arafat was received as the representative of the PLO. In 1993, we remember the famous White House Lawn signing of the Oslo agreement which effectively placed Arafat and his terrorist squads in Israel. He was given Jericho, Gaza, and increasing portions of Judea and Samaria. US President Clinton pushed successive Israeli administrations to make increasing compromises with Arafat without any demands being made of Arafat. Israel gave up control of real land; Arafat was only asked to work harder at controlling the slaughter of Jews. But Arafat would be Arafat; he continued his terrorist pursuits until Israel couldn't take it anymore. Now that Arafat is endangered again, the Bush Administration is jumping in to rescue him. Hence, the recent trip of Secretary of State Powell to the Middle-East.

Arafat is seen as the only viable leader of the Palestinians.

Mr. Bush has gone beyond even the Clinton doctrine by declaring the intentions of dividing the State of Israel into two states: one Israeli and one Palestinian. Yasser Arafat is seen as the only viable leader of the Palestinians. Indeed, if another prospective leader emerged, he would be murdered by Arafat and his thugs. Palestinians have learned this lesson from direct experience. Why two states? Because as long as there is a sovereign Moslem authority in control of the heartland of Israel and, especially, the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, then faith will be subdued in Israel. From the standpoint of the lone superpower — which also has the responsibility of managing the world economy — faith in Israel is a dangerous thing. A little movement of faithful men and women in Israel could upset the whole world situation. If they, for example, took actual possession of the Temple Mount and began to worship there, real Godly anointing would come upon them and there would be no limit to what could happen. Real Christian believers around the world would likewise receive a powerful anointing. We do not know if the Bush Administration spiritually understands this but we are sure that Satan does. The result is the same. So, Arafat is crucial to the foreign policy of the United States.

Because this is true, America will certainly experience a powerful judgment by the hand of God. This we believe is not in the distant future.