Sorry, Dow Jones, I have to steal today's "middle editorial, Kofi's Heroes, in full:
Kofi Annan ordered United Nations flags at half-staff yesterday in tribute to lately departed Palestinian supremo Yasser Arafat. This, the folks at Turtle Bay tell us, is standard operating procedure whenever the head of a member state dies in office. Excuse us for asking, but what U.N.-member state did Arafat lead?Well, none: "Palestine" has observer, not member, status. But Mr. Annan amended protocol in order to give Arafat the same recognition in death as the U.N. accorded him in life.
Say what you will about Mr. Annan's decision, it is certainly true that for 30 years the U.N. did what it could to elevate Arafat from terrorist to statesman. That's something Americans might bear in mind when next told the war on terror must be conducted under U.N. auspices.
Meanwhile, the Jerusalem Post reports that the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, responsible for more than a score of suicide bombings, has renamed itself the Arafat Martyrs' Brigades. Now, there is a fitting tribute.