WorldNetDaily: Arafat successor al-Qaida sympathizer

WorldNetDaily: Arafat successor al-Qaida sympathizer:

"'We thank God that the oil begins to take a new position from which it will be possible to use in that war,' Qaddumi said. 'World demand for oil is increasing. Therefore it becomes possible to use oil to exert pressure.'

"Qaddumi sees Israel as on the verge of collapse and regards the election of Ariel Sharon as the last choice of the Jewish state, or as he put it, 'the last bullet in the Israeli rifle.' When that bullet is spent, he said, Israel would disintegrate a la the Soviet Union or Yugoslavia.

"Not surprising, Qaddumi has positive words for al-Qaida and its 9/11 suicide strikes on New York and Washington. After saying he condemned the attacks, Qaddumi discussed the benefits of the attacks.

"'These events will serve as a lesson to the United States,' Qaddumi said.

"'This was the first time that Arabic names were introduced to American households,' he added.

"'These incidents caused America to reexamine its foreign policy to find the causes of terrorism.'"

So says Farouq Qaddumi, Yasser Arafat's successor as head of al Fattah, the leading party in the coalition known as the Palestine Liberation Organization. His selection surprised some since he had not appeared to be close to Arafat for several years, but Qaddumi, like Arafat an engineer, had been involved with Arafat since the 1950s and became liaison between the PLO and foreign governments in the 1970s.

In addition to his new formal title, Qaddumi has the backing of Arafat's widow and much of the Palestinian security force which was recruited largely from the 300,000 Palestinians who accompanied Arafat on his return from exile. This will make him a key player in the new, much more fluid, political situation in the Middle East.