Arafat said to have lost mental capacity

[drdon326]

Senior Palestinian Authority sources say Chairman Yasser Arafat has lost some of his mental capacities and cannot function. Some doubt that he will be capable of resuming his position as PA leader, even if his health recovers to some extent.

In Paris, where Arafat is hospitalized, Palestinian sources said initial tests on the 75 year old leader ruled out leukemia, but his condition remains serious. The Palestinian envoy to Paris, Leila Shahid, said specialists were still looking for the cause of the dramatic collapse of the Palestinian leader's health.

The reports that Arafat's mental state may have deteriorated are worrying Palestinian leaders at home far more than his physical health. Reports say that after his collapse last Wednesday, Arafat lost his mental functioning. In some cases he did not recognize people who came to visit him.

Diplomatic sources said last week he even had trouble recognizing Abu Mazen and Abu Ala who and in some cases his speech was incoherent and confused, but there is no clear opinion on whether such lapses might be permanent or temporary. However, there are grave doubts as to whether, even after a relative recovery, he will be able to make decisions or give orders or even to understand what is happening around him, sources said.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/495451.html

[Mortos]

1. I hoped it wasn't contagious

but apparently Arafat has W syndrome. He has lost his mental capacities, cannot speak coherently and has reduced cognitive skills. The future is bleak. He will be further detoriorate until he is replaced by a more effective leader.

[BayStateBoy]

20. Yep, the Poor Bastard is Just Like Bush

[hang a left]

2. Uh oh.

I don't think this is a goood sign. As for my suspicions of a long term poisoning; what kind of poison can cause this?

[drdon326]

3. This is interesting.....

and who do you think is poisoning him ?

[bemildred]

4. Many things can cause the reported symptoms. nt

[drdon326]

6. Still waiting for completion of your "suspicions"....

n/t

[steely]

11. 'twas mentioned in another thread....

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=947579&mesg_id=947579

[Chicago Democrat]

19. Radiation... Slow and untracable.... hard to prove

I think Israelis have the means and will do commit such a thing and I suspect everything and discount nothing.

Then again the man is 75 years old.

[theHandpuppet]

5. I saw an obvious sign of this years ago

Does anyone remember an interview Christiane Amanpour did with Arafat a couple of years ago or so, when in response to a reasonable question of hers he went off on some irrational and irrelevant tirade at her? As seasoned as Amanpour is, even she was startled at this display of hair-trigger, off-the-wall rage.

As someone who has witnessed such signs of dementia -- a horribly cruel disease -- in a couple of relatives robbed of a dignified old age, I remember thinking at the time that Arafat was surely showing those very signs of an organic mental decline.

Part of me says that the Palestinian people and any hopes for peace in the region may be blessed if Arafat is finally removed from the picture; this hope, however, is tempered with the very real trepidation of just who might step into the role after the inevitable power struggle. All the more reason we should not have abandoned the work of bringing a lasting peace to the Israeli-Palestinian people, as BushCorp did by simply stepping aside on the road to peace to make way for the bulldozer called Ariel Sharon.

[ixion]

7. yeah, it's okay. We've got a 'leader' who doesn't know what's

going on around him either, and he still makes decisions. And look where that's got us. :eyes:

[drdon326]

8. Good point...

And look where it got the ME.

[americanwomanone]

9. I Thought He Looked Unusually Happy. n/t

[Ohio rules]

10. He is dead...politically...

I saw a thread about Arafat may have been poisoned.
That had to be an inside job!

His organization is going to be entering a power play shift phase.

[Spiffarino]

12. Yes, and things are going to get even uglier there

If he was poisoned, it's because he was seen as ineffectual by one or more factions in his government. Still, I doubt that he was poisoned.

Regardless, the PA is going to become like the Mafia when a Capo dies. There's no telling how it will shake out but it will probably be bloody and awful.

On edit: clarity

[Ohio rules]

13. Could it be a turn for the worse or just a turn in another direction

The PLA seems to be gridlocked.

[olddad56]

14. If he loses enough mental capacity, he could work for Bush.

[flying_blind]

15. Arafat says he is 'feeling well'

Arafat says he is 'feeling well'
From correspondents in Ramallah
01nov04

PALESTINIAN leader Yasser Arafat called his finance minister, Salam Fayyad, today and told him he was "feeling well," Mr Fayyad said.

Mr Arafat left his Ramallah compound for the first time in nearly three years on Friday to receive medical treatment abroad. Doctors in France have performed a battery of tests on Mr Arafat, but are still not sure what is wrong with him.

Some officials have said in recent days that Mr Arafat appeared tired and confused, but Mr Fayyad said the 75-year-old Palestinian leader called him today and appeared coherent as they discussed the finances of the Palestinian Authority in a five-minute conversation.

"(Mr) Arafat told me, 'I am OK. I am feeling well. Please tell my brothers there that I am doing well'," Mr Fayyad said.

"This phone call is clear proof that President Arafat is fully aware of what is going on around him," Mr Fayyad said. "He talked to me and he knew he was speaking to the finance minister. We were discussing details of things."
http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,11249701%255E1702,00.html

[Laughing Mirror]

16. Well that was a quick recovery

Glad he's feeling better. Maybe all he needed was a little change of air, and food.

[daleo]

17. I have seen low grade infections cause these symptoms in older people

Simple dehydration can also be a factor. Given the living conditions at the compound after the Israeli attacks, neither infection nor dehydration would surprise me. A lot of times they can bounce back pretty well after re-hydration and antibiotics.

[MADem]

18. I think you are right

And dehydration would be a factor during Ramadan. I think there's more, though, too. Along with the infection/dehydration, I suspect he's had a mini-stroke or two. I don't think he has been poisoned, though. The poisoner would not have let him leave that compound alive--he would have done the job right.

[daleo]

21. There might well be more going on.

At any rate, when this sort of stuff begins happening to people in their 70's and 80's it is usually not a good sign. If Arafat's position were in any sense a normal political position, it would be time to get on with the transfer of power.

I sometimes wonder how bad Reagan really got towards the end of term two.

[belle]

22. Could it have been a small stroke?