Yasser Arafat sendte hilsen til Saddam Hussein i forbindelse med den muslimske religiøse høytiden id:

«Any kind of support and assistance from you in these difficult times will enable us to continue our persistence and resistance until we put an end to the occupation, in all its manifestations, of our holy Al-Quds [Jerusalem] and the Islamic and Christian holy shrines, and exercise our legal and lasting rights, based on international legal resolutions, and most importantly our rights for self determination, for repatriation, and for establishing our independent state with its capital Al-Quds Al-Sharif [Jerusalem].»

Når krigen mot Irak bryter ut, står Arafat ved avgrunnen. I likhet med Saddam, er hans eneste hensikt å overleve – holde seg ved makten. Men i motsetning til Saddam velger han derfor å gi etter for alle krav som stilles til ham, om enn aldri så motvillig, skriver Graham Usher i Al-Ahram Weekly.