IS ARAFAT MAKING A NUCLEAR THREAT HERE? That depends on what you mean by “disastrous explosion.”

C-LOG writes: “This is precisely the problem FBI and CIA officials had pre-9/11. Should they have arrest Arafat because he threaten an explosion? or should they chalk his statement up to political rhetoric?” Well, that’s where it’s not like pre-9/11. Arrest him? Just kill him. I’m with Den Beste on this, I think. He’s outlived any usefulness he might have — except perhaps as a warning to whoever comes next about what happens if you make what even seem to be nuclear threats.

Yeah, the Vatican and the EU will complain. So what?

UPDATE: Reader Laurence Simon writes:

Not a serious threat at all, but extremely clever. He’s just seeing that “Sum of All Fears” is a hit at the box office, the Bush Administration didn’t think it was good timing of the release of the picture so it boosted the hype, so Arafat is trying to use the plot from “The Mouse That Roared” to his own advantage.

It’s too bad that Peter Sellers is not with us anymore, because he could make one heck of an Arafat. And Ariel Sharon. And Yasser Rabbo. And George Bush. Heck, he could probably do Kofi Annan, too.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Simon has expanded on this theme over on his page.