Editor's Update 11/11/04: As James Taranto wryly notes in Opinion Journal, citing this original Israel Insider report, "Yasser Arafat is in stable condition after dying in a Paris hospital. A hospital spokesman 'said there would be no details about the cause of death because of French privacy laws,' reports the Associated Press." Now why do you think there would be a need to invoke privacy laws in reporting a man's death? And why, suddenly, is it no longer a "mysterious illness" but an illness that must be concealed?
The article as originally reported on November 6, 2004:
Former White House speechwriter David Frum has joined the growing chorus of pundits, medical experts, and intelligence operatives who claim Yasser Arafat is likely suffering from AIDS.
I have no idea if this is credible. At least I'm not the only one who suspected some such...