BRAVE LEADERS

Recent reports indicate that Yasser Arafat may have been murdered by polonium. He was a brave and outspoken advocate for his people. I mourned him when he died and I mourn him still. I did not alway agree with him, but I admired his commitment to bettering the life of his followers.

Any outspoken leader knows that they risk being murdered by people who believe that the death of a leader will stop their followers.

Unfortunately, you often can not tell a great leader from a troublemaker until the leader is gone. A true leader will have an increasing number of admirers even after his/her death or imprisonment. No one remembers a troublemaker except for the trouble she/he caused.

The sad part of Mr. Arafat's death is that, at the time he died, I thought perhaps he was murdered by radical members of his own group.

If you are a reader of my blog, you know that I believe that VIOLENCE IS ALMOST NEVER THE ANSWER.

Every day, I see people lose friends because they will NOT TALK honestly about why they made certain decisions. On a national level, this refusal to talk means that no solution will ever be found.

I will make two suggestions for the Middle East. Hopefully these will help.

Let Israel have Jerusalem. They won it in war, they have the older religious claim, and it is stupid to divide cities, as we learned in Berlin. Be sure to ask for monetary compensation for the loss of Jerusalem so that you can get your peaceful economy up and running well.

The rebels should negotiate. NO ONE wants Syria to collapse with 100 METRIC TONS OF CHEMICAL WEAPONS stored somewhere in Syria. Russia may put pressure on Assad, but ONLY if there is a viable plan to peacefully hand over power. Such a plan can not happen unless everyone TALKS TO EACH OTHER.