Scott at Powerline wrote a long piece last June which provided a ton of evidence that seemed to prove that Yasser Arafat was involved in the murder of two United States diplomats in 1973:
On March 1, 1973, a gang of eight operatives of the Black September Organization stormed a party at the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Khartoum. The party had been held in honor of the imminent departure of Curtis Moore, the American charge d’affaires at the United States Embassy in Khartoum. The Black September gang took Moore and two others hostage — Cleo Noel Jr., the United States ambassador to Sudan, and Guy Eid, the Belgian embassy’s charge d’affaires. (Two other diplomats taken by the Black September operatives were released.)
The Black September gang demanded the release of Sirhan Sirhan, the assassin of Robert Kennedy; the release of a Black September leader held in Jordan; and the release of several members of the Baader-Meinhof gang held in Germany. On March 2, President Nixon and representatives of the other two governments announced that they would not negotiate with terrorists for the release of the diplomats. That evening the Black September operatives marched Noel, Moore and Eid to the embassy basement and brutally murdered them.
The operation was given the code name "Cold River." Arafat himself gave the order that resulted in the assassination of Noel and Moore. From beginning to end the operation leading to the assassination of Noel and Moore was an Arafat/Fatah operation. While working on the 2002 column, I sought out a State Department spokesman to ask him if the department had undertaken any efforts to bring Arafat to justice for the murders of Noel and Moore. I sent an e-mail message with a draft of my column to State Department Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs deputy director of press affairs Gregory Sullivan.
I wrote Sullivan:
I have been leaving messages with you and other department officers over the past day or two seeking any information about department efforts to bring to justice Yasser Arafat and others involved in the 1973 assassination of former American Ambassador to Sudan…Cleo Noel and his charge d’affaires, George Curtis Moore. Attached is the op-ed piece I have written on the subject, including criticism of the Department for its apparent inaction…regarding its own former officers. If my assertions regarding the Department’s inaction are wrong, I would like to rewrite the piece to make it accurate. I wonder if you would be willing to take a moment to review the piece and provide me with any information on behalf of the department if I am mistaken.
In response Sulllivan wrote:
I can’t say I’m impressed with your research or argumentation. You’re obviously writing a piece designed to elicit a certain reaction rather than one based on factual accounts or actual comments made by the U.S. government. I really don’t have the time to do the research for you, but I do find myself compelled to point out…Evidence clearly points to the terrorist group Black September as having committed the assassinations of Amb. Noel and George Moore, and though Black September was a part of the Fatah movement, the linkage between Arafat and this group has never been established.
Following the publication of my piece, I filed a Freedom of Information Act request for State Department cables and reports on the assassination of Ambassador Noel. A year later -– in July 2003 — I received copies of 27 previously classified cables, all dating to 1973. The cables directly contradicted the Department’s assertion that Arafat’s connection to Black September and to the assassinations was ever in doubt.
A State Department employee dismissed Scott’s research and claims as not based in fact.
Cough: (.PDF file from State Department via It Shines For All)
The Khartoum operation was planned and carried out with the full knowledge and personal approval of Yassir Arafat, Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the head of Fatah. Fatah representatives based in Khartoum participated in the attack, using a Fatah vehicle to transport the terrorists to the Saudi Arabian embassy.
Initially, the main objective of the attack appeared to be to secure the release of the Fatah/BSO [Black September Organization] leader Muhammed Awadh (Abu Da’ud) from Jordanian captivity. Information acquired subsequently reveals that the Fatah/BSO leaders did not expect Awadh to be freed, and indicates that one of the primary goals of the operation was to strike at the United States because of its efforts to achieve a Middle East peace settlement which many Arabs believe would be inimical to Palestinian interests.
Powerline today:
The PLO had given the name "Cold River" to the operation and Arafat received a coded message confirming the assassinations by reference to "Cold River."
So for three decades our State Department has known all along that Arafat had a major hand in killing OUR diplomats but they still dealt with him as a legitimate representative of the Palestinians.
These diplomats worked for the State Department for gods sake. They ignored it and in so doing gave Arafat much more power then ever should have. He should of been captured or killed for his role in the deaths of our citizens….but that never happened.
Instead he won a friggin Nobel Peace prize…..unbelievable!
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