Fahrenheit 9/11

Two pop stars, Ricky Martin and Britney Spears, make cameo appearances. Abbas won the January 2005 presidential election by a comfortable margin, solidifying himself as the successor to Arafat as leader of the Palestinians. The distributors expressed unhappiness and suggested potential legal action, but according to the Sunday Herald, Moore's own response was, "I don't have a problem with people downloading the movie and sharing it with people as long as they're not trying to make a profit off my labour".[15] Moore had expressed similar sentiments before the film's theatric release. Ahmed Qurei remained as Prime Minister and took additional security responsibilities. The anti-Moore site moorewatch.com posted a link to a BitTorrent file containing a version of the movie taped at a cinema. PLO Secretary-General Mahmoud Abbas was selected Chairman of the PLO and Foreign Minister Farouk Kaddoumi became head of Fatah. In the UK, the film was shown on Channel 4 on January 27, 2005. Upon Arafat's death, Speaker Rawhi Fattuh succeeded Arafat as interim President of the Palestinian Authority.

This is especially curious as it has neither been released on DVD officially in Germany yet, nor was it shown on premium channels. [24][25][26] Israel asked French officials to provide proof that Arafat was born in Jerusalem,[27] and the Simon Wiesenthal Center called on France "to investigate the circumstances of the false and incomplete registration of Arafat's death certificate, to correct the erroneous details of his birthplace, adding the truth of his parentage and the cause of his death."[28] So far, no party to the controversy has brought the case to a court to ask for a rectification of the certificate (see French Civil Code, L99-101). The movie was also shown on basic cable television in Germany and Austria on November 1, 2004 and November 2, 2004. This was the location specified by the official foreign documents that were shown to the French ministry of foreign affairs when Arafat's wife acquired French citizenship. Moore later on arranged for simultaneous broadcasts on November 1st at 8:00 PM (EST) on DISH Network, TVN and the Cinema Now website. A controversy erupted around Arafat's death certificate, which listed Jerusalem as his birth place. The two-hour film was planned to be shown as part of the three-hour "The Michael Moore Pre-Election Special" on iN DEMAND, but iN DEMAND backed out in mid-October for "legitimate business and legal concerns." In a statement Michael Moore said he believes iN DEMAND decided not to air the film because of pressure from "top Republican people". On November 22, Nasser al-Kidwa was given a copy of Arafat's 558-page medical file by the French Ministry of Defense.[23].

All of these depictions of servicemen have been described by some as contradicting Moore's "final thoughts" segment, where he praises the troops as noble for volunteering and serving America so loyally, wondering out loud if they "will ever trust us again?" However, most footage of American troops was taken from other documentries, including the "heavy metal music" scene from Soundtrack to War. It was determined that Arafat's nephew, Nasser al-Kidwa, was a close enough relative, thus working around Suha Arafat's mutism on her husband's illness. By extension, Moore illustrates those who do actually join up as either extremely gullible or as only interested in money and not desirious of serving their country. After Arafat's death, the French Ministry of Defence said that Arafat's medical file would only be transmitted to his next of kin. Finally, in the film's segment on the tactics of military recruiters, Moore depicts military personnel as underhanded and deceptive in their efforts to get people to enlist. [22] On November 17, the French government insisted that there was no evidence Arafat had been poisoned, otherwise a criminal investigation would have necessarily been opened. Additionally, in footage depicting the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Moore uses footage of Americans blasting heavy metal music from the PA system of their armored vehicles, implying they are immature and bloodthirsty. Paris deputy Claude Goasguen asked for a parliamentary inquiry commission on the death of Arafat in an attempt to quell rumors.

One notable scene, for instance, showed American soldiers raiding an Iraqi home for suspected insurgents, and dealing with the suspect and his family in a particularly harsh fashion. [21]. One other major criticism of Moore's film include his depiction of American soldiers during the war, and the seeming incompatibility of these depictions with the overtures of support for them he makes in his conclusion. [20] The French newspaper Le Monde quoted doctors as saying that he suffered from "an unusual blood disease and a liver problem". He claims that Moore altered the footage in a deceptive and underhanded fashion. Finally, he had a brain haemorrhage. Both of his arms were blown off in the line of duty, and he insists that his description of phantom limb pain used in Moore's film were not meant to imply that he blamed the administration for his wounds or that he disagreed with the mission in Iraq. Thus, according to the source, the probable causes of the disease are multiple; Arafat's coma was a consequence of the worsened cirrhosis.

An American serviceman wounded in Iraq and featured in Fahrenheit 911 has also spoken out against Moore and his message. The source then explained that Arafat's conditions of life during the last three years did not improve the situation: Arafat did not get health care appropriate to his state. Glenn Chastain, went further, stating that coastal patrols were not the responsibility of the Oregon State Police, but rather the United States Coast Guard. According to the same source, the reason why this diagnosis of cirrhosis could not be made public was that, in the mind of the general public, cirrhosis is generally associated with the consequences of alcohol abuse – even though the diagnosis was not of an alcoholic cirrhosis and Arafat did not consume any alcohol, there would have probably been rumors. The trooper's commander, Lt. Leukemia was soundly ruled out. Furthermore, Kenyon insists his statements to NBC news, although they were eventually used by Moore, did not mean he supported any of Moore's other views on the Bush Administration. According to the newspaper, the doctors at Percy hospital suspected, from Arafat's arrival, grave lesions of the liver responsible for an alteration of the composition of the blood, thus Arafat was placed in a hematology service.

The trooper has been quoted, however, as saying that his statements were not meant to imply that the Bush Administration was at fault for Oregon state budget cuts, nor that terrorism was a particular threat to Oregon's coastline. On November 16, 2004, the Canard Enchaîné newspaper reported alleged leaks of information unnamed medical sources at Percy hospital having had access to Arafat and his medical file. This segment was picked up and used by Moore to try and prove his assertion that budget cuts enacted by the Bush Administration, thereby exposing Oregon and its vast coast to terrorist infiltration. [18][19] Following a state funeral in Cairo, attended by many Arab leaders, Arafat was "temporarily" laid to rest on November 12 within his former headquarters in Ramallah in the West Bank watched by a large crowd. The Oregon State Police segment featured a Trooper Andy Kenyon, who was interviewed by NBC news on the detrimental effects of state budget cuts on the operational capabilities of his department. Israel refused Arafat's wish to be buried in or near the Al Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem citing widespread security concerns. The most glaring examples of this manipulation includes footage of interviews with an Oregon State Trooper and an interview with a wounded and an American serviceman wounded and subsequently disabled in Iraq. Ashraf Kurdi, lamented the fact that the leader's wife Suha had refused an autopsy, which would have answered many questions in the case.

Another point of criticism often leveled against Moore is his use of stock footage taken from American newscasters. Arafat's personal physician, Dr. This contention, it should be noted, has been debunked by a coalition of top American newspapers, including the Washington Post and New York Times, which concluded after a lengthy recount of their own that George Bush would have won, even if the comprehensive recount requested by Gore hadn't been rejected by the US Supreme Court. Both Haaretz and the New York Times further speculated that the cause of death may have been an infection of an unknown nature or origin. Bush had "stolen" the election. However, in the same week that the Haaretz report was published, the New York Times published a separate report also based on access to Arafat's medical records which claimed that it was highly unlikely that Arafat had AIDS or food poisoning. The letter's new "headline" insisted that Al Gore had won the recount, supporting Moore's premise that George W. Another "senior Israeli physician" claimed it was "a classic case of food poisoning", probably caused by a meal eaten four hours before he fell ill on October 12 that may have contained a toxin such as ricin rather than the standard bacterial poisoning.

The text of the letter was digitally inflated and rearranged, creating the illusion that it was a factual article written by an actual reporter. The paper further quoted an Israeli AIDS expert who claimed that Arafat bore all the symptoms of AIDS. Perhaps the most blantant and oft-cited example of Moore manipulating his audience is the use of a letter to the editor from a Florida newspaper during Moore's segment covering the 2000 Presidential election recount in Florida. In September 2005, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that French experts could not determine the cause of Arafat's death. Others even contend that Moore's premises and evidence contradict his conclusions. I closed my eyes, and I started reading from the Koran..." When his death was announced, the Palestinian people went into a state of mourning, with Qur'anic mourning prayers emitted from loudspeakers from mosques, and tires burning in the street as a sign of mourning. Accusations leveled against Moore using deception, propaganda, and even employing outright falsehoods and fabrications to make his point. My first reaction when I saw the scene was that I didn't understand what was going on.

Moore has been criticized by conservatives and even liberals (such as Christopher Hitchens) for both the content and conclusions of his film. The blood was coming from every possible place. Due to the highly political nature of the film, criticism was inevitable. There was blood everywhere on his face. [14]. Sheikh Taissir Tamimi, who held a vigil at his bedside described the scene, "It was a very painful scene. Bush won Worst Actor, Bush with either Condoleezza Rice or his pet goat won Worst Screen Couple, Donald Rumsfeld won Worst Supporting Actor, and Rice and Britney Spears were both nominated for Worst Supporting Actress, with Spears winning the award. The exact cause of his illness is unknown and controversial.

George W. Arafat was pronounced dead at 03:30 UTCFrench time on November 11 at age 75. The film also won four Razzies, not for its lack of quality but rather as a 'joke' about the "actors". On November 10, a "high religious dignitary" visited Arafat and declared that it was out of the question to disconnect Arafat from life support machines, since, according to him, such an action would be prohibited by Islam. However, the film won other awards such as the People's Choice Award for Favourite Motion Picture, an unprecedented honor for a documentary. On November 9, at 10 AM, chief surgeon Estripeau of Percy reported that Arafat's condition had worsened, and that he had fallen into a deeper coma. The film received no Oscar nominations when they were announced on January 25, 2005. (Code of Public Health, L1110-4) Accordingly, all communications concerning Yasser Arafat's health had to be authorized by Arafat's wife.

2." Moore had previously won a Best Documentary Oscar for Bowling for Columbine and noted that in the current situation, the above priorities take precedence to winning a second Oscar and that he would prefer his fellow documentarians to have a chance to win the Oscar themselves. Palestinian officials were reported to regret that the news about Yasser Arafat was "filtered" by his wife.[17] French law forbids physicians from discussing the condition of their patients with anybody with the exception, in case of grave prognosis, of close relatives. Moore planned instead to submit and promote his film for the Best Picture Oscar, commenting: "For me the real Oscar would be Bush's defeat on Nov. Suha Arafat stated "They are trying to bury Abu Ammar alive". On September 6, 2004, Moore announced that, because he was seeking a television airing of Fahrenheit 9/11 prior to the November presidential election, the film would not be submitted for consideration for a Best Documentary Oscar (from which a broadcast within nine months of release would disqualify the film under Oscar rules). On November 8, officials of the Palestinian Authority travelled to France to see Yasser Arafat. It contains Moore's sources for his allegations, audience e-mails about the film, film reviews, articles and political cartoons pertaining to the film. A controversy erupted between officials of the Palestinian Authority and Suha Arafat, Yasser Arafat's wife.

A companion book, The Official Fahrenheit 9/11 Reader, was released at the same time. Palestinian authorities and Arafat's Jordanian doctor denied reports that Arafat was brain dead and had been kept on life support. [13]. Various sources speculated that Arafat was comatose, in a "vegetative state", or dead. About 2 million copies were sold on the first day. In the ensuing days, Arafat's health was the subject of wild speculation. In the first days of the release, the documentary broke records for the best-sold documentary ever. On November 3 he lapsed into a gradually deepening coma.

presidential election, in order to maximize its political impact. According to one of his doctors, Arafat was suffering from Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), an immunologically-mediated decrease in the number of circulating platelets to abnormally low levels. Moore stated that he wanted to release the movie for home viewing prior to the 2004 U.S. Following visits by other doctors, including teams from Tunisia, Jordan, and Egypt, and agreement by Israel not to block his return, Arafat was taken on October 29 aboard a French government jet to the Percy military hospital near Paris. Fahrenheit 9/11 was released to DVD and VHS on October 5, 2004, an unusually short turnaround time after theatrical release. His condition deteriorated in the following days and he became unconscious for 10 minutes on October 27. He also gave permission for the film to be downloaded onto personal computers. First reports of Arafat's treatment by his doctors for what his spokesman said was 'flu' came on October 25, 2004 after he vomited during a meeting.

That issue is moot, anyway, since Moore decided consciously to forego Oscar eligibility in favor of a DVD release of the film — reportedly because he felt that it was more important to spread his message as widely as possible amongst American voters than to win another award. Arafat's accounts in Paris. However, soon after that story had been published, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences issued a statement denying this, saying, "If it was pirated or stolen or unauthorized we would not blame the producer or distributor for that." [12] In addition, Wild Bunch, the film's overseas distributor for Cuba, issued a statement denying a television deal had been struck with Cuban Television. In October 2003, French government prosecutors opened a money-laundering probe of Suha Arafat after Tracfin alerted the prosecutors to untaxed transfers of nearly $1.27 million each with some regularity from Switzerland to Mrs. It had been widely reported that this might affect its Oscar eligibility. Arafat accused Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of spreading rumors about money-laundering involed the transfer of funds to herself to distract media attention away from corruption allegations against himself. In Cuba, bootlegged versions of the film were shown in 120 theaters, followed by a prime-time television broadcast by the leading state-run network. In an interview with the London-based newspaper Al Hayat, Mrs.

I think it's quite natural." By refusing to condemn his film's use by Hezbollah, an organization that has been implicated in the killing and kidnapping of American civilians abroad and has been labeled a terrorist organization by the United States and European Union, Moore has been accused of de facto treason by some. Claims by unnamed sources in the PA Finance Ministry stated that Arafat's wife, Suha, receives a stipend of $100,000 each month from the PA budget. Having the support of such an entity in Lebanon is quite significant for that market and not at all controversial. The reform of the financial management of the PA is the objective of several key conditions attached to the EU financial assistance." [16]. Gianluca Chacra, managing director of Front Row Entertainment, the Middle East distributor for Fahrenheit 9/11, has stated, “We can't go against these organizations, as they could strongly boycott the film in Lebanon and Syria. The EU "remains convinced that deepening reform in the PA and improving its financial management and audit capacities is the best preventive strategy against the misuse of funds and corruption. In Lebanon, some student members of the group Hezbollah have asked if there was any way they could support the film. An investigation by the European Union into claims that EU funds were misused by the Palestinian Authority has found no evidence that funds were diverted to finance terrorist activities.

The film has been banned in Kuwait. Arafat turn over the investments as a condition of further aid." [15]. In certain countries, the film was received as a confirmation of what informed people already knew, but critics still found the film effective because it had managed to cause controversy in the US. They demanded that Mr. The film was a major success in most European countries. Arafat gave in to pressure from aid donors such as the European Union and from his finance minister, Salam Fayyad, the IMF's former representative in the territories. Bush is prohibited by law from running [for presidency] again.". Mr.

The official mourning period is over today and there is a silver lining — George W. Arafat to hand over the holdings was like pulling teeth. We're communicators and it's up to us to start doing it now. According to Salam Fayyad, a former World Bank official who Arafat appointed finance minister in 2002, Arafat's commodity monopolies could accurately be seen as gouging his own people, "especially in Gaza which is poorer, which is something that is totally unacceptable and immoral." [14] According to Hanan Ashrawi, a former member of Arafat's cabinet "Getting Mr. They weren't told the truth. Though Arafat has always lived modestly, Dennis Ross, former Middle East negotiator for Presidents Bush and Clinton, stated that Arafat's "walking-around money" financed a vast patronage system. Fifty-one percent of the American people lacked information [in this election] and we want to educate and enlighten them. And none of these dealings were made public".

We want to document it. The head of the investigation stated that "although the money for the portfolio came from public funds like Palestinian taxes, virtually none of it was used for the Palestinian people; it was all controlled by Arafat. On November 12, 2004, Moore announced his intention to produce a sequel to the film, to be entitled Fahrenheit 9/11 1/2. In an interview with Daily Variety, he stated, "We want to get cameras rolling now and have it ready in two, three years. and the Cayman Islands. Furthermore, it was hoped that it would give heart to people who disagreed with Bush's policies, but felt their views were being marginalized. The team claimed that part of the Palestinian leader's wealth was in a secret portfolio worth close to $1 billion — with investments in companies like a Coca-Cola bottling plant in Ramallah, a Tunisian cell phone company and venture capital funds in the U.S. Nonetheless, Bush's critics hoped that the success of the film was an indication of wide public support for more open debate on the Bush administration's policies. In 2003 a team of American accountants — hired by Arafat's own finance ministry — began examining Arafat's finances.

Despite Moore's energetic campaign in favor of Democratic challenger John Kerry, Bush was re-elected to a second term on November 2, 2004, albeit with a narrower margin of votes than any sitting US president in American history. [13]. Bush's chances of re-election. The IMF did not claim that there were any improprieties and it specifically stated that most of the funds have been used to invest in Palestinian assets, both internally and abroad. Partly because of the success of the film, it was widely debated what effect it would have on George W. In 2003 the International Monetary Fund (IMF) conducted an audit of the Palestinian Authority and stated that Arafat diverted $900 million in public funds to a special bank account controlled by Arafat and the PA Chief Economic Financial Advisor. There were also efforts by liberal groups such as MoveOn.org to encourage attendance in order to defy their political opponents' contrary efforts. business magazine "Forbes" [11] ranked Arafat as sixth on its 2003 list "Kings, Queens and Despots" [12], estimating his personal wealth to "at least $300 million", without indicating its source for this claim.

Moore credited part of this success to the efforts of conservative groups to pressure theaters not to run the film, conjecturing that these efforts backfired by creating publicity. The U.S. During the weekend of July 24, 2004, the film passed the $100 million mark in box-office receipts, again an unprecedented amount for a feature-length political documentary. In August 2002, the Israeli Military Intelligence Chief claimed that Arafat's personal wealth was USD $1.3 billion [10], though he provided no substantiation for this claim. The film was released in France on July 7, 2004 and in the UK on July 9, 2004. On September 22, 2003, The Wall Street Journal published article by former chief of Romanian intelligence Ion Mihai Pacepa "The KGB’s Man" PDF alleging that he was trained by the KGB, which "in the mid-1960s decided to groom him as the future PLO leader.". theatrical run of any other feature-length documentary (including Moore's previous film, Bowling for Columbine). Arafat's support from Arab leaders tended to increase whenever he was pressured by Israel; for example, in 2003 when Israel declared it had taken the decision, in principle, to remove him from the Israeli-controlled West Bank.

Its opening weekend earned more than the entire U.S. The most frequent criticism of Arafat was that he was corrupt to the detriment of the Palestinian people. and Canada, making it the weekend's top-grossing film, despite having been screened in only 868 theaters (many of the weekend's other top movies played on over 2,500 screens). However, he remained by far the most popular Arab leader among the general populace. On its opening weekend of June 25–June 27, this film generated box-office revenue of $23.9 million in the U.S. In the last few years growing disenchantment with Arafat and his peers had surfaced within the general Arab press. He also said that, despite the fact that Moore's talent was "not in doubt," he had won the award "for political rather than cinematographic reasons, no matter what the jury said." [11]. At various times he had come under withering criticism from Arab leaders and press.

In comments to the prize-winning jury in 2005, however, Cannes director Gilles Jacob said they should make their decision based on film-making rather than politics — a clear reference to Fahrenheit 9/11. Arafat had a mixed relationship at best with the leaders of other Arab nations. We awarded the art of cinema, that is what won you this award and we wanted you to know that as a fellow filmmaker.'". [9]. Some of us have no politics. Bush dismissed Arafat as a negotiating partner: "The real problem is that there is no leadership that is able to say 'help us establish a state and we will fight terror and answer the needs of the Palestinians'". We are not here to give a political award. President George W.

He also responded to claims that the award was political: "Quentin [Tarantino] whispered in my ear, 'we want you to know that it was not the politics of your film that won you this award. On July 18, 2004, in an interview in Le Figaro, U.S. [...] This is not a French award, it was given by an international jury dominated by Americans.". Many feel this was due to the fact that he secretly supported the attacks, a belief that was widespread among all the Palestinian militant organizations who did not take Arafat's call seriously. Four out of nine were American. He issued such a call on May 8, 2002, but, as was the case before, it was largely ignored. Some conservatives in the United States, such as Jon Alvarez of Patriotic Americans Boycotting Anti-American Hollywood (PABAAH), commented [10] that such an award could be expected from "the French" (see Anti-Americanism, Anti-French sentiment in the United States); Moore responded: "There was only one French citizen on the jury. With that, and a promise that he would issue a call in Arabic to the Palestinians to halt attacks on Israelis, Arafat was released.

Just like his much-publicized Oscar acceptance speech, Moore's speech in Cannes included some opinionated statements:. Rather, a combination of British and American security personnel would ensure that the wanted men remained imprisoned in Jericho. It was the first documentary to win that award since Jacques Cousteau and Louis Malle's The Silent World in 1956. Arafat was finally allowed to leave his compound on May 3, 2002 after intense negotiations led to a settlement[8]: six militants wanted by Israel, who had been holed up with Arafat in his compound, would not be turned over to Israel, but neither would they be held in custody by the Palestinian Authority. On May 22, 2004, the film was awarded the Palme d'Or. Marwan Barghouti emerged as a leader during the Al-Aqsa intifada but Israel had him arrested and sentenced to 4 life terms. After its first showing in Cannes in May of 2004, the film received a 20-minute standing ovation, which Cannes artistic director Thierry Frémaux declared "the longest standing ovation in the history of the festival." (According to French news the standing ovation was over 23 minutes long). Persistent attempts by the Israeli government to identify another Palestinian leader to represent the Palestinian people failed; and Arafat was enjoying the support of groups that, given his own history, would normally have been quite wary of dealing with him or of supporting him.

In April 2004 the film was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 57th Cannes Film Festival. Israel then launched a major military offensive into the West Bank (see "Operation Defensive Shield".). The film is also dedicated to "countless thousands" of civilian victims of war as a result of United States military activities in Iraq and Afghanistan. Ariel Sharon, who had previously demanded that Arafat speak out strongly in Arabic against suicide bombings, declared that Arafat "assisted the terrorists and made himself an enemy of Israel and irrelevant to any peace negotiations". The movie is dedicated to Moore's friend who was killed in the World Trade Center attacks on September 11, 2001, and to those servicemen and women from Flint, Michigan, who have been killed in Iraq. Shortly afterward, attacks carried out by Palestinian militants killed more than 135 Israeli civilians. President, we agree with you.". Israel ignored what it deemed to be a facile offer.

Fool me twice, shame on me." What he came up with combined part of that maxim with the title of The Who song "Won't Get Fooled Again." In the context of the film, Moore is tying the clip back to the beginning of the film to imply Moore's hope that the American public would not be "fooled again." After the clip, Moore is heard saying, "For once Mr. Supporters of this declaration saw this offer, which included recognition of Israel by the Arab states, as a historic opportunity for comprehensive peace in the region, while critics of this offer say that it would constitute a heavy blow to Israel's security, while not even guaranteeing Israel the cessation of suicide bombing attacks. You fool me you can't get fooled again." He was presumably trying to say, "Fool me once, shame on you. In March 2002, the Arab League made an offer to recognize Israel in exchange for Israeli retreat from all territories captured in the Six-Day War and statehood for Palestine and Arafat's Palestinian Authority. Bush stumbling through the saying: "There's an old saying in Tennessee — I know it's in Texas, it's probably in Tennessee — that says, fool me once, shame on — shame on you. On May 6, 2002, the Israeli government released a report, based in part on documents captured during the Israeli occupation of Arafat's Ramallah headquarters, with copies of papers signed by Arafat authorizing funding for the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades' activities. The film ends with a clip of George W. Some allege that activities of these groups were tolerated by Arafat as a means of applying pressure on Israel (see PLO and Hamas.) Some Israeli government officials opined in 2002 that the Fatah's faction Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades began attacks on Israel to compete with Hamas.

In the beginning of the documentary, Moore focuses on the 2000 election with footage of a hypothetical Gore victory and in the process states his opinion that the public was fooled. They appeared to be out of Arafat's influence and control and were actively fighting with Arafat's Fatah group. Will they ever trust us again?" However, earlier in the film, he asserts that the large proportion of working-class people in the military can be mainly attributed to a lack of other career options. In the 1990s, these groups seemed to threaten Arafat's capacity to hold together a unified secular nationalist organization with a goal of statehood. And all they ask for in return, is that we never send them into harm's way unless it's absolutely necessary. Arafat's ability to adapt to new tactical and political situations, was perhaps exemplified by the rise of the Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad organizations, Islamist groups espousing rejectionist opposition to Israel and employing new tactics such as suicide bombing, often intentionally targeting non-military targets, such as malls and movie theaters, to increase the psychological damage. It is remarkable — their gift to us. The complex and fragile web of relations between the U.S., Israel, Saudi Arabia, and other Arab states also contributed to Arafat's longevity as Palestinian leader.

They offer to give up their lives so that we can be free. Others believe that Israel kept Arafat alive because they feared Arafat less than Hamas and the other Islamist movements gaining support over Arafat's secular organization. They serve so that we don't have to. Some commentators believe his survival was largely due to Israel's fear that he could become a martyr for the Palestinian cause if he was to be assassinated or even arrested by Israel. Near the end, tying together several themes and points, Moore compliments those serving in the US military, "I've always been amazed that the very people forced to live in the worst parts of town, go to the worst schools, and who have it the hardest, are always the first to step up, to defend that very system. Arafat's long personal and political survival was taken by most Western commentators as a sign of his mastery of asymmetric warfare and his skill as a tactician, given the extremely dangerous nature of politics of the Middle East and the frequency of assassinations. He accosts Congressmen on the sidewalk to give them United States armed forces pamphlets and to urge them to have their children enlist. After the start of the Second Intifada, Arafat's wife moved to live with her mother and daughter in Paris.

He also comments that only a single Congressman has children serving in Iraq. When the Al-Aqsa Intifada, or Second Palestinian Intifada, was launched (2000-present), the peace process completely collapsed. Upon learning that most members of Congress had not read the USA Patriot Act before passing it, Moore drives around the Capitol in an ice cream truck, reading the statute over a loudspeaker. In a move widely criticized and even by a member of his negotiating team and Cabinet, Nabil Amr, Arafat rejected Barak's offer and refused to make a counter-offer. As in his other movies, Moore uses humor to enliven his argument. Also included in the offer was a return of a number of refugees and compensation for the rest. As she talks with a protester in a tent, they are confronted by a woman who claims that the protester's exhibits are "all staged." Lipscomb asks her if her son's death was staged also. In addition, under the Israeli proposal, Israel would retain some control of the Palestinian state's borders, customs, and defense.

Toward the end of the film, Lipscomb was shown walking up to the security barrier surrounding the White House, (she had invited Moore's crew to join her on a job conference to Washington, DC.) She expressed her difficulty in coming to terms with the place and in realizing how the decisions made there would ultimately bring about the death of her son. Israel would annex the resting 9-10% of the West Bank encompassing large settlement blocs, in exchange for land in the Negev. Anguished and tearful, she expressed questions about the war's purpose and how that came to take the life of her son. The final proposal proffered by Barak would have meant establishment of Palestinian State on 90-91% of the West Bank and the whole of the Gaza Strip. Later in the film, Lipscomb reappears, this time in tears with her family, after hearing of the death of her son, Michael Pederson, who was killed on April 2, 2003, in Karbala. Due partly to his own politics (Barak was from the leftist Labor Party, whereas Netanyahu was from the rightist Likud Party) and partly due to immense pressure placed by American President Bill Clinton, Barak offered Arafat a Palestinian state in the majority of the West Bank and all of the Gaza Strip with an outlying suburb of East Jerusalem as its capital. She praised the Army's active recruitment in the low-income town, saying enlistment was a good option for young people to get a start on life. Arafat continued negotiations with Netanyahu's successor, Ehud Barak, at the Camp David 2000 Summit.

The Flint segment also focused on a strong war supporter named Lila Lipscomb, who had a daughter in the 1991 Persian Gulf War and now had a son serving in Iraq. The resulting Wye River Memorandum of 23 October 1998 detailed the steps to be taken by the Israeli government and PA to complete the peace process. The segment showed the techniques and minor flatteries by which they made personal contact with people, asking questions and making suggestions that interests such as music and basketball would be avenues available to pursue through the military. President Bill Clinton intervened, arranging meetings with the two leaders. In the economically hard-hit town, Moore explained that Flint's low-income neighborhoods were a prime target of military recruiters, and followed two Marine recruiters in uniform, during the course of actively recruiting young men for enlistment. In 1998, U.S. Like all other Moore films, Fahrenheit 9/11 featured extensive focus on the impact of the Iraq War on Flint. Netanyahu allegedly sought to obstruct the transition to Palestinian statehood outlined in the Israel-PLO accord.

Moore obtained footage of the preparation for the televised announcement of the Iraq war, where Bush "mugs" for the camera, seconds before uttering "My fellow Americans...". Palestinian-Israeli relations grew even more hostile as a consequence of continued conflict. It also shows a business convention where numerous corporate representatives attend and hear a pitch about how much money companies can make through the conflict in Iraq. In mid-1996, Benjamin Netanyahu was elected Prime Minister of Israel. The documentary touches on other themes as well, discussing reduction in the number of people enlisting in the military because of the war, and US military recruiters using some questionable pledges to get new sign-ups; particularly targeting poorer neighborhoods. The mass media uses both terms. Moore's uncensored copy was from 2000, and the restrictions did not take effect until 2003.) Moore contends that Bush's dry-hole oil well attempts were partially funded by the Saudis and, in fact, by bin Laden family money. translate the title as "president".

(This may have been due to HIPAA restrictions on the release of medical records, in this case the record showing Bath's suspension for not taking an exam. interpret the title as "chairman" while Palestinians and the U.N. Bath, a Guard friend of Bush's who went on to work as a financial agent for the Saudis and helped channel Saudi money to one of Bush's businesses. Israel and the U.S. The difference between the versions is that the White House blacked out the name of James R. After 1996, Arafat's title as Palestinian Authority leader was "head" (Arabic Ra'is). Bush's Air National Guard service record — first the censored copy produced by the White House, then an uncensored copy that Moore had obtained a few years earlier. The following elections scheduled for January 2002 were later postponed; the stated reason being inability to campaign due to the emergency conditions imposed by the al-Aqsa intifada and Israel Defense Force incursions and restrictions on freedom of movement in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Moore shows a Vietnam war-era document of George W. However, because Hamas and other opposition movements chose not to participate in the presidential election, the choices were limited. The next scene is of Bush sitting in a Florida classroom, holding a book called Reading Mastery 2, for seven minutes after being told there was a second airplane crash into the World Trade Center. Independent international observers reported the elections to have been free and fair. Many of the scenes also depict Bush playing golf with family, fishing, and feeding his dog, and other scenes show him being heckled by reporters over his poor productivity during the time before September 11th. On January 20, 1996, Arafat was elected president of the PA, with an overwhelming 88.2 percent majority (the only other candidate was Samiha Khalil) [7]. [9]. On July 24, 1995, his wife Suha gave birth to a daughter, who was named Zahwa after his deceased mother.

The figure comes from a Washington Post article that concludes Bush spent "a whopping 54 days at his Texas ranch, 38 days at the presidential retreat at Camp David and four more at his parents' place in Kennebunkport, Maine." Critics dispute this figure as misleading, remarking that it includes visits by foreign dignitaries as vacation time. In 1994, Arafat moved to the territory controlled by the Palestinian Authority (PA) — the provisional entity created by the Oslo Accords. Bush's ascension to power and alleges a 42-percent vacation rate before September 11, 2001. Arafat returned to Palestine as a hero to some but a traitor and collaborator to others. The film begins with George W. (See: Israel-Palestine Liberation Organization letters of recognition.) The following year Arafat was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize along with Shimon Peres and Yitzhak Rabin. In it, he stated that he was obtaining footage directly from Iraq:. In return Prime Minister Rabin, on behalf of Israel, officially recognized the PLO.

In April 2004, Moore posted a note on his web site regarding the progress of the film. Prior to signing the accords, Arafat as Chairman of the PLO and as its official representative signed two letters renouncing violence and officially recognizing Israel on September 9, 1993. By contrast, Moore refrained from using the familiar footage of the September 11 attacks, but instead presented a blank screen with only the sounds of the incident, then cut to reactions of onlookers of the attacks. In the early 1990s Arafat engaged the Israelis in a series of secret talks and negotiations that led to the 1993 Oslo Accords calling for the implementation of Palestinian self rule in the West Bank and Gaza Strip over a five year period. One brief clip shows a public beheading filmed in Jidda, Saudi Arabia. The pilot and several passengers were killed and Arafat received several broken bones and other injuries. The film also shows US soldiers with amputations and nerve damage. Arafat narrowly escaped death again in 1992 as his aircraft crash-landed in the Libyan desert during a sandstorm.

The film contains numerous graphic clips of military and civilian casualties in the Iraq war, including dead and mutilated bodies, as well as footage of American soldiers deployed to Iraq who use music as a "Soundtrack to War". disregarding his claims of being a partner for peace. One of his primary sources for these claims is the book House of Bush, House of Saud by Craig Unger. attack on Iraq, alienating many of the Arab states, and leading to the U.S. In this vein, he also examines the government-sponsored evacuation of relatives of Osama bin Laden after the attacks. Prior to the Gulf War of 1991, Arafat opposed the U.N. Although the business connections between the Bush family and various high-ranking Saudis are not disputed, they are not widely known, and Moore has previously alleged that the Bush administration turned a blind eye to Saudi links to terrorist groups, (most of the September 11 hijackers were Saudis). During the 1991 Madrid Conference, Israel conducted open negotiations with the PLO for the first time.

[7] (See Bush family conspiracy theory.). [6]. The links form a relationship spanning three decades, supposedly worth $1.4 billion to the Bush family and their friends and associates. In 1990 Arafat married Suha Tawil, a Palestinian Orthodox Christian working for the PLO in Tunis, who converted to Islam before marrying him. In the film, Moore also describes the links between the Bush family and associated persons, such as prominent Saudi Arabian families, including the Saudi royal family and the family of Osama bin Laden. However, on April 2, 1989, Arafat was elected by the Central Council of the Palestine National Council (the governing body of the PLO) to be the president of the proclaimed State of Palestine. The film discusses the causes and aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, including the 2003 invasion of Iraq and the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq. Arafat's statement indicated a shift from one of the PLO's primary aims — the destruction of Israel (as in the Palestinian National Covenant) — towards the establishment of two separate entities, an Israeli state within the 1949 armistice lines and a Palestinian state in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

. administration, which insisted on the recognition of Israel as a necessary starting point in the Camp David peace negotiations. [5] The film has grossed a further $99 million overseas.[6]. Arafat's December 13 statement was encouraged by the U.S. box office, and over US$220 million worldwide, an unprecedented amount for a political documentary; Sony reported first-day DVD sales of two million copies, again a new record for the genre. In a December 13, 1988 address, Arafat accepted UN Security Council Resolution 242, promised future recognition of Israel, and renounced "terrorism in all its forms, including state terrorism" [5]. As of January, 2005, the film has grossed nearly US$120 million in U.S. On November 15, 1988, the PLO proclaimed the independent State of Palestine, a government-in-exile for the Palestinians which laid claim to the whole of Palestine as defined by the British Mandate of Palestine, rejecting the idea of partition.

The film debuted at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival in the documentary film category and was awarded the Palme d'Or (Golden Palm), the festival's highest award, by an international jury (four Americans, four Europeans, and one Asian). Although the Intifada was a spontaneous uprising against Israeli occupation, within weeks Arafat was attempting to direct the revolt, and Israelis believe that it was mainly because of Fatah forces in the West Bank that the civil unrest was able to continue for the duration. [2][3][4]. This was particularly useful during the First Intifada in December, 1987. Moore himself has called it an "op-ed piece" while vehemently defending its factual accuracy. During the 1980s, Arafat received assistance from Iraq and Saudi Arabia, which allowed him to reconstruct the badly-battered PLO. The film has been denounced by some as misleading propaganda, and praised by others as a valuable perspective on the Bush administration's response to 9/11 that the American media have not broadcast. In Operation Wooden Leg, IAF F-15s bombed his headquarters in Tunis leaving 73 people dead; Arafat had gone out jogging that morning.

One of Moore's stated aims in making the documentary was to prevent Bush from being reelected in 2004. Arafat again narrowly survived an Israeli attack in 1985. political scene." [1] The documentary has another theme of criticizing the American corporate media for being "cheerleaders" for the war in Iraq, and not providing an accurate and objective analysis of what led to the Iraq invasion and the resulting civilian casualties there. In September 1982, during the Israeli offensive into Lebanon, the Americans and Europeans brokered a cease-fire deal in which Arafat and the PLO were allowed to leave Lebanon; Arafat and his leadership eventually arrived in Tunisia, which remained his center of operations up until 1993. The Los Angeles Times described the film as "an alternate history of the last four years on the U.S. Arafat did not return to Lebanon personally after this second expulsion, though many Fatah fighters did. Bush and the War on Terrorism. Instead of being expelled by Israel, this time Arafat was expelled by a fellow Palestinian working for Hafez al-Assad.

It presents a critical look at the administration of George W. Arafat actually returned to Lebanon a year after he was evicted from Beirut, this time establishing himself in Tripoli. The film generated a great deal of controversy. During the Israeli siege of Beirut (1982), the United States and European powers brokered a deal guaranteeing safe passage for Arafat and the PLO to exile in Tunis. It was named after Ray Bradbury's dystopian Science Fiction novel Fahrenheit 451. Arafat himself narrowly escaped with assistance from the Saudis and Kuwaitis. The film has since been released in 42 more countries and holds the record for highest box office receipts by a general release documentary. The Civil War's first phase ended for Arafat with the siege and fall of the Palestinian refugee camp of Tal al-Zaatar.

Fahrenheit 9/11 is a high-grossing, award-winning documentary film by American filmmaker and liberal activist Michael Moore, which had a general release in the United States and Canada on June 25, 2004 in the run up to the presidential election. During the Civil War, Arafat allied the PLO with Lebanese Muslim groups, however, fearing a loss of power Syria's President Assad switched sides, and sent in his army to help the right-wing Christian Phalangists. After having taken control over West Beirut, and under siege by the Israeli army, Arafat declared Beirut to be the "second Stalingrad." Beirut ended up in much ruin as a result of subsequent Israeli artillery and aerial bombardment with close to 17,000 civilians dead. The PLO played an important part in the Lebanese Civil War. The PLO was admitted to full membership in the Arab League in 1976.

Do not let the olive branch fall from my hand." His speech increased international support of the Palestinian cause. In the same year, Arafat became the first representative of a nongovernmental organization to address a plenary session of the UN General Assembly, and Arab heads of state recognized the PLO as "the sole legitimate spokesman of the Palestinian people." In his UN address, Arafat condemned Zionism, but said, "Today I have come bearing an olive branch and a freedom fighter's gun. Arafat denied responsibility for terrorist acts committed by these groups. Israel claimed that Arafat was in ultimate control over these organizations and hence had not abandoned terrorism.

The Fatah movement continued to launch attacks against Israeli civilians and the security forces within the West Bank and Gaza Strip; moreover, in the late 1970s numerous leftist Palestinian organizations appeared which carried out attacks against civilian targets both within Israel and outside of it. In 1973-4, Arafat closed Black September down, ordering the PLO to withdraw from acts of violence outside Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, because overseas attacks attracted too much bad publicity. The killings were internationally condemned and Arafat publicly disassociated himself and the PLO from such attacks. A number of sources, including Mohammed Daoud and Benny Morris, have stated that Black September was an arm of Fatah used for terrorist operations.

In September 1972, the Black September group killed 11 Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympic Games. The PLO mounted intermittent cross-border attacks against Israeli targets, including civilians, from there. Because of Lebanon's weak central government, the PLO was able to operate virtually as an independent state. Following the expulsion from Jordan, Arafat relocated the PLO to Lebanon.

See also History of Jordan and Black September. By September 24, the Jordanian army achieved dominance and the PLA agreed to a series of ceasefires [4]. Navy dispatched the Sixth Fleet to the eastern Mediterranean and Israel deployed troops to aid Hussein, if necessary. The fighting was mainly between the Jordanian army and the PLA; the U.S.

In the ensuing civil war, the PLO had the active support of Syria, which sent a force of around 200 tanks into Jordan to aid them. On that same day, Arafat became supreme commander of the Palestine Liberation Army (PLA), the regular military force of the PLO. On September 16, King Hussein declared martial law. Other Arab governments attempted to negotiate a peaceful resolution, but continuing fedayeen actions in Jordan (such as the destruction by the PFLP, on September 12, of three international airliners hijacked and held in Dawson's Field in Zarqa) prompted the Jordanian government to take action to regain control over its territory.

Open fighting erupted in June of 1970. Jordan considered this a growing threat to its sovereignty and security and attempted to disarm the Palestinian militias. In the 1960s tensions between Palestinians and the Jordanian government had greatly increased; heavily armed Palestinian resistance elements (fedayeen) had created a virtual "state within a state" in Jordan, eventually controlling several strategic positions in Jordan, including the oil refinery near Az Zarq. Arafat became commander-in-chief of the Palestinian Revolutionary Forces two years later and, in 1973, the head of the PLO's political department.

By the late 1960s, Fatah had come to dominate the PLO, and at the Palestinian National Congress in Cairo on February 3, 1969 Arafat was appointed Palestinian Liberation Organization leader, replacing Ahmad Shukeiri. Many young Palestinians joined as the ranks and armaments of Fatah swelled. Amid the post-war environment, the profiles of Arafat and Fatah were raised by this important turning point, as he came to be regarded as a national hero who dared confront Israel. The battle was covered in detail by Time magazine, and Arafat's face appeared on the cover, bringing the wider world their first image of the man.

Despite the high Palestinian death toll, Fatah considered themselves victorious because of the Israeli army's eventual withdrawal. In 1968, Fatah was the target of an Israeli Defense Force operation in the Jordanian village of Al-Karameh ("honor" in Arabic language) in which 150 relatively poorly armed Palestinians and 29 Israeli soldiers were killed. After the Six-Day War, Arafat is said to have escaped Israel by crossing the Jordan River dressed as a woman carrying a baby. Fatah's first operation was an unsuccessful attempt to blow up an Israeli water pump station in 1965.

Arafat worked hard in Kuwait to establish the groundwork for Fatah's future financial support by enlisting contributions from the many Palestinians working there, who gave generously from their high salaries in the oil industry (ibid., p.91). According to journalist John Cooley, the name means "victory" and is also an acrostic taken from the initials, read backwards, of Harahkat al-Tahrir al Filistini (H-T-F, letters are reversed in FaTaH due to the negative meaning of the H-T-F root in Arabic.), meaning the Palestine Liberation Movement.² Fatah dedicated itself to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state and the destruction of the state of Israel. In Kuwait in 1959, with the help of friends Yahia Ghavani and Khalil al-Wazir (Abu Jihad) [3], together with a group of refugees from Gaza, Arafat founded one of the groups that became al-Fatah. Arafat had decided that the best way for Palestinians to gain control of Palestine was for them to fight and not rely on support from Arab governments.

After Suez, Arafat moved to Kuwait, where he found work as a civil engineer and eventually set up his own contracting firm. Fathi Arafat founded the Palestinian Red Crescent and was involved in the humanitarian aspect of the conflict. Arafat's younger brother Dr. By 1956, Arafat graduated with a bachelor's degree in civil engineering and served as a second lieutenant in the Egyptian Army during the Suez Crisis.[2] Later, in 1956, at a conference in Prague, he donned the keffiyeh, the traditional chequered head-dress which was to become his emblem.

After returning to university, Arafat joined the Muslim Brotherhood and served as president of the Union of Palestinian Students from 1952 to 1956. Arafat felt that he had been "betrayed by these [Arab] regimes". He was disarmed and turned back by Egyptian military forces, who refused to allow the poorly trained partisans to enter the war zone. But by 1946 he had become a Palestinian nationalist and was procuring weapons in Egypt to be smuggled into Palestine in the Arab cause.[1] During the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, Arafat left university and, along with other Palestinians, sought to enter Palestine to fight for Palestinian independence.

He later claimed to have sought to better understand Judaism and Zionism by engaging in discussions with Jews and reading publications by Theodor Herzl and other Zionists. Arafat attended the University of King Fuad I (later renamed Cairo University). The marriage did not last, and when his father married once more, Arafat's sister Inam was left in charge of the upbringing of her siblings. When he was eight, his father re-married and the family moved back to Cairo.

In Jerusalem, they lived in a house near the Western Wall and the Al-Aqsa Mosque or Temple Mount, a holy site to Jews, Christians and Muslims. Arafat was four when his mother died, and he and his father moved to Jerusalem from Cairo, where the family had been living. A birth certificate registered in Cairo, Egypt shows August 24, 1929 as his date of birth and Cairo as the place. Arafat claimed to have been born in Jerusalem on August 4, 1929; some of his legal personal documentation states the same.

His father was a Palestinian textile merchant and his mother came from a prominent Palestinian family. Arafat was the fifth or sixth (sources disagree) of seven children. .
.

Still others accused him of being a deeply corrupt politician or a weak leader who made too many concessions to the Israeli government during efforts to settle the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. While his supporters viewed him as a heroic freedom fighter who symbolized the national aspirations of the Palestinian people, his opponents often described him as an unrepentant terrorist with a long legacy of promoting violence. Arafat was a controversial and polarizing figure throughout his lengthy career. Yasser Arafat (Arabic: ياسر عرفات‎) (August 4 or August 24, 1929 – November 11, 2004), born Mohammed Abdel-Raouf Arafat al-Qudwa al-Husseini (محمد عبد الرؤوف القدوة الحسيني) and also known by the kunya Abu `Ammar (أبو عمّار), was Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) (1969–2004); President¹ of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) (1993–2004); and a co-recipient of the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize.

ISBN 9993251305. Wallach, Janet and John Wallach, Arafat: In the Eyes of the Beholder, Carol Pub Group, 1990. ISBN 1883642108. Rubinstein, Danny and Dan Leon The Mystery of Arafat, Steerforth Press, 1995.

ISBN 0195166892. and Judith Colp Rubin, Yasir Arafat: A Political Biography, Oxford University Press, 2003. Rubin, Barry M. ISBN 0283062207.

Hart, Alan, Arafat, Sidgwick & Jackson, 1994. ISBN 1852279249. Gowers, Andrew and Tony Walker, Arafat: The Biography, Virgin Books, 2005. ISBN 1582340498.

Aburish, Said K., Arafat: From Defender to Dictator, Bloomsbury Publishing, 1998.