So what happens when Arafat dies?

[RandomKoolzip]

Who's the next in line to take over the PLO?

BTW: I'm no fan of Arafat, nor am I a fan of Sharon. But this is now a big issue and Arafat looks bad.....Given a Kerry victory and Arafat kicking the bucket (hypothetically) in the near future, what do you guys see as being the future of the Isreali/Palestinian conflict?

[RT Atlanta]

1. they bury him?

:)

[RandomKoolzip]

4. I stepped in that one, didn't I?

D'oh.

[THUNDER HANDS]

2. hopefully, a civil civil war

between the reformers and the hardliners. Hopefully the reformers will win out.

Who exactly the reformers are and how many of them there are, I don't know.

[durutti]

13. Here's a useful guide.

http://middleeastreference.org.uk/palestiniangroups.html

[russian33]

3. I think it'll just get worse

The hard-liners will use this as a 'He dies cause Sharon wouldn't let him leave the compound', and it will be hard for the moderates to control that message.

[mark414]

5. my (jewish) roommate had this to say

now if only all the leadership on both sides could die, maybe we would get somewhere

[smirkymonkey]

11. You have a very wise roommate.

But he/she should have included the US leadership in that equation.

[EmperorHasNoClothes]

6. Bowtie boy was on Crossfire saying

that Arafat is democrats' favorite foreign leader. What an idiot.

Long term, I don't think his death will have much impact. I expect everything to remain pretty much the same.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

7. Before or after they find 72 virgins?? You know that was all BS don't

you... I mean... they don't really believe that in the way it was trumpeted by the media... Just kidding about Arafat though, I know he isn't in the group I was referring to... he did share the Nobel Peace Prize once upon a time... if anyone remembers....

[wuushew]

8. The immediate declaration of a Palestinian state

either by hardliners or moderates. Once this has occurred I will watch as Kerry explains his support for an illegal wall inside a sovereign state.

[asthmaticeog]

9. I almost hate to suggest this,

but maybe you should cross-post this in I/P? Though that forum terrifies me, they surely follow this stuff more closely than those who hang in GD.

[RandomKoolzip]

10. Yeah, like I really feel like getting my dick royally spanked.....

I mean, come on...I wouldn't go to the I/P forum PRECISELY because I want more objective opinions on this, not partisan sniping. I'm right in the middle as far as I/P issues go: I can't figure out who the good guys are, although I guess I lean towards the P's more than the I's, simply because of Sharon's obvious evilness...I guess.

Posting this in I/P would just devolve into thousands of "You're wrong!" posts.

[MattBaggins]

12. From the stand point of America.... Nothing,

because the idiot in chief, has up to this point, done zilch to engage either side in the Israel/Palestine conflict. Due to the chimps negligence, we have no one in place with a working relationship with the Palestinians; thus no way to exploit the situation and possibly move things in a positive direction. Unfortunately, thanks to Bush we will most likely see Hamas seize control and more children will be blown to bits from suicide bombs and helicopter gunships. Did anyone expect more from such an incompetent administration?

[durutti]

14. Here's the really interesting scenario.

What if the Gaza pullout and Arafat's death both lead to a massive civil war encompassing Israel, the Occupied Territories, and beyond?