[phantom4570]

Al-Jazeera: Tests suggest Arafat died of polonium poisoning

Recent tests conducted on Yasser Arafat's personal belongings at the time of his unexpected death in 2004 suggest his body contained abnormal levels of radioactive polonium, the same poisonous substance that killed Russian spy-turned-dissident Alexander Litvinenko, Al-Jazeera TV reports.

Palestinians eye Arafat autopsy after poison report

(Reuters) - New suspicions that Yasser Arafat was murdered, perhaps poisoned by radioactive polonium, prompted the Palestinian Authority on Wednesday to agree to exhume the body of the iconic leader.

Of course the Arab world wants to pin this on Israel but my money is on Russia, largely because former KGB agents were implicated in the murder of Litvinenko. If Arafat was poisoned it was because he knew too much about KGB/FSB operations in Europe and the Middle East and declined an offer he couldn't refuse. What would Israel have gained by killing Arafat?

 

[TommyGunn]

Yasser Arafat poisoned?

:boohoo:​

 

[dfariswheel]

To quote the Wall Street Journal Online:
"Yasser Arafat is in stable condition after dying in a Paris hospital"

 

[phantom4570]

To quote the Wall Street Journal Online:
"Yasser Arafat is in stable condition after dying in a Paris hospital"

Someone alluded to that here back when Yassir was approaching room temperature.

I had another thought. Maybe they've been watching "The Bourne Identity" along with episodes of NCIS and want an excuse to exhume the body to look for implants with Swiss bank account numbers.

 

[Skeptic49]

Well,
Isotopes of polonium - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Use as a heating element in unmanned space craft?

Heavy Alpha emitter, which pretty much means it has to be ingested to kill.

Geoff
Who remembers his NBC training in the 1970s somewhat.

 

[phantom4570]

Heavy Alpha emitter, which pretty much means it has to be ingested to kill.

Polonium-210 has properties which cause it to become airborne making inhalation an extreme risk. It is extremely toxic. According to the link in your post, less than a microgram ingested or inhaled can be lethal.

 

[phantom4570]

Radiation experts confirm polonium on Arafat clothing
On his clothing, not in the tissue samples. Why doesn't the the hospital that treated him have tissue and blood samples taken when he was still alive?

... Arafat's clinical symptoms "could not rule out" polonium poisoning.

These include nausea, vomiting, fatigue and abdominal pain.
...
They acknowledge, though, that Arafat showed no hair loss or decline in bone marrow activity -- symptoms that typically occur in radiation poisoning.
...
... "There is still no conclusion that he was poisoned."

 

[WaltGraham]

Well, the important thing is that the little bastid is dead.

 

[Tim Burke]

Hear, hear!

 

[stand watie]

DITTO.

yours, sw

 

[DavidE]

Hmm... thinking of who could have had access to it the list includes:

Israel (Of course they weren't ol' Yassir's biggest fans.)
Iran (Has Research Reactor, may have wanted more direct influence with the Palestinians.)
Syria (Had research reactor, ties with Russia and Iran, and also wanted more direct influence.)
Russia (They've used the technique before, but why Arafat?)
Pakistan (They have nuclear stuff, and are tight with Al Quaeda.)

Arafat had enough enemies. If this is true, wow.

 

[phantom4570]

Arafat had enough enemies. If this is true, wow.

I am unconvinced.
Arafat died November 11, 2004.
Arafat was exhumed on November 27 2012.
He was buried for 2939 days.
Polonium 210 has a half life of 138.376 days which works out to twenty-one half lives. At twenty-one half lives, any detectable quantity of Po-210 indicates an original quantity that would have contaminated the entire hospital.
I think the polonium was planted after he died and before he was buried. Then they discover polonium in his personal effects, dig up the body and discover more polonium. Queue up some grievance theater and point the finger at Israel.

 

[Tim Burke]

I don't know how much Po-210 it takes to be detected, but I do know that after 21 half lives only 0.000048 % of the original sample remains. The LD50 is in the neighborhood of 0.09 micrograms. If he started with a microgram, then, even after 21 half lives, there are still almost 1.37 trillion Po-210 atoms present.

 

[topgun47]

Well, the important thing is that the little bastid is dead.

Well said.

 

[CaptainGyro]

Ya gotta admit, though, he was a handsome rascal.