First off, I don’t like the way the current administration is pussyfooting in the Middle East. If Reagan were still around, right now there would either be peace in the Middle East or it would be one giant smoldering pothole. And then it would be done with. Instead we play buddy-buddy with a bunch of dictators who, in a true and just world, should be hanging from trees. At least, it seems, Bush has completely cut off all ties with Arafat. I think we could have cut off ties with him a lot more forcefully, though. Instead of Bush coming out and saying, “You should elect someone other than Arafat because we don’t like him,” just so the Palestinians could defy us, we should first have had a sniper take him out and then say, “I think you should elect someone other than Arafat because he’s dead now.” Then the Palestinians would have to concede to our simple logic or elect a dead man. They’d probably elect a dead man, but sometimes people surprise you.