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CNN Live At Daybreak
Yasser Arafat, President of Palestinian Authority, Dies
Aired November 11, 2004 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): Mr. Yasser Arafat, president of the Palestinian Authority, has died.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: A lightning rod for controversy, revered and reviled, what does Yasser Arafat's death overnight mean for the Middle East?
It's Thursday, November 11, and this is DAYBREAK.
Good morning.
From the CNN Global Headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Fredricka Whitfield in this morning for Carol Costello.
Palestinian Parliament Speaker Rauhi Fattouh is replacing Arafat as president. Fattouh will serve in an interim capacity until elections are held within 60 days. Former Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas takes Arafat's title as head of the PLO. Arafat's body will head for Cairo, Egypt, where a state funeral will be held Friday morning. Then he will be interred near his compound in Ramallah. But chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat insists that it's just a temporary resting place.
A busy commercial street in central Baghdad was rocked by a large explosion just about 90 minutes ago. Iraqi officials say there are 12 dead. Officials suspect a car bomb.
But now to other top stories. The Palestinian people are mourning the death of the only leader many of them have ever known. Yasser Arafat's death comes 13 days after flying to Paris for hospitalization.
For details now on what's next, we're joined by CNN's Cairo bureau chief Ben Wedeman -- Ben. BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Fredricka, we expect a military funeral to be held here in Cairo 11:00 a.m. Friday. That's 23 hours from now. It's going to be a military funeral, according to Egyptian officials, held near the Cairo airport in a mosque where a prayer service will be held.
Now, the Egyptian officials are expecting several head of states from the Arab world as well as from beyond. We're hearing that the president of Indonesia, South Africa, the foreign minister of the United Kingdom, the assistant secretary of state of the United States, William Burns, will be attending. We are seeing a definite increase in security on the streets of Cairo. They're going to be keeping a fairly tight lid on the situation.
Fortunately, the funeral will be taking place on a Friday, which is the weekend here in Egypt. The United States Embassy, in fact, has issued a warning to U.S. citizens in Cairo to stay away from the center of the city. They fear there could be spontaneous protests or demonstrations and are advising Americans to basically stay at home tomorrow.
Many Egyptians obviously mourning the death of Yasser Arafat. He was somebody who embodied the Palestinian cause. Yasser Arafat, in fact, spent many years here in Cairo. He studied engineering at Cairo University. In fact, he spoke Arabic with an Egyptian accent. So he's somebody who Egyptians will be mourning, certainly, tomorrow when that funeral takes place -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: And, Ben, are people there in Egypt reacting, speaking to what they hope will be perhaps a turning point in any kind of Middle East policy as a result of Yasser Arafat's death?
WEDEMAN: Well, certainly we have been hearing suggestions from Egyptian officials that they are a bit frustrated with the leadership or they were frustrated with the leadership of Yasser Arafat and they're hoping that the new leadership will be able to move forward in the peace process.
If you speak to ordinary Egyptians, they're not so concerned with the finer points of diplomacy. They are just upset at the death of the Palestinian leader -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right, Ben Wedeman, thanks very much for that update from Cairo, Egypt.
To the Palestinians, Yasser Arafat was father. To their neighbors, the Israelis, he was a terrorist.
Our senior international correspondent Walter Rodgers has more now on how Arafat is being remembered.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
WALTER RODGERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Yasser Arafat was all things to all people -- the leader of the Palestinian people's struggle for an independent country of their own; an international icon of the cold war and the wars of national liberation; and a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.
But to Israelis like Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Arafat was a terrorist and a murderer and Sharon, a former Israeli Army general, spent no little effort over the years trying to kill the Palestinian leader. Some saw it as a case of two old men trying to settle scores. The Israelis had an army, Palestinians had a will to fight.
Arafat had many flaws. He was, at times, flagrantly dishonest, claiming, among other things, he was born in Jerusalem, when there is documentary evidence he was born in Egypt of Palestinian parents in 1929.
But his fatal flaw may have been his assumption that the bridges he built with the United States in the previous decade would somehow save him in the presidency of George Bush the younger.
YASSER ARAFAT: Not to forget that the Madrid Conference had started with President Bush the father. And I hope and I am sure that President Bush the son will complete it.
RODGERS: Arafat had more narrow escapes with death than Houdini and the late Syrian President Hafez Assad tried to kill him. He also nearly died in a plane crash.
Perhaps nowhere more than in the Middle East does blood beget blood so easily. Plots against Arafat, PLO plots against its enemies. Arafat headed the Palestine Liberation Organization during a rash of terrorist incidents, including hijackings. At the time, the PLO was so riddled with factions, it was sometimes unclear which faction did the killing. But ultimately Arafat was blamed.
When Arafat and his Palestine Liberation Organization were based in Beirut in 1982, then Israeli General Ariel Sharon repeatedly tried to kill him there. Trapped, the United States and the international community helped Arafat and his fighters escape into exile.
The first intifada in 1987 persuaded moderate Israelis and much of the world that Palestinians had legitimate grievances to be addressed. There were White House agreements, a peace process had been launched in Oslo. Hope and a moment of triumph, Arafat extended his hand to a former enemy. Israel allowed Arafat to go home to Gaza.
But Palestinian extremists wanted Arafat to fail -- bus bombs, suicide attacks, terror. Arafat had mortgaged his future to a badly flawed peace process. Opponents of that peace process in Israel and among the Palestinians guaranteed its failure.
By late 2002, Arafat's cabinet had resigned. It appeared he was losing power. Israel and the U.S. lost faith in his inclination to deliver peace. They were pushing Arafat toward a reduced role and wanted him to appoint a prime minister whom all sides could trust. He eventually appointed Mahmoud Abbas, but the two men quarreled. Russia, the United States, the United Nations and the European Union created a new initiative, the so-called road map toward peace that called for Arafat's dream, establishment of a Palestinian state within two years.
But the U.S. and Israel vowed not to deal with Arafat anymore.
Yet Abbas failed to control suicide bombings, Arafat did not want to give up power and Israel continued its attacks on Palestinian militant leaders. So, five months after he was appointed, Abbas quit.
Arafat appointed yet another prime minister, but the road map had been seriously damaged. Violence between Israel and the Palestinians continued and Israel announced Arafat was to be exiled. Ultimately, Arafat became his own worst enemy. In return for peace, a liberal Israeli prime minister and the president of the United States were ready to give him 97 percent of the West Bank, part of Jerusalem and a Palestinian state. Arafat hesitated, gambled for more and lost everything, including credibility.
ABDEL BARI ATWAN, "AL QUDS": He didn't actually complete anything he started. This is his dilemma. So that's why I say Arafat will be remembered of a man, an indecisive man as a politician, as an -- and also an indecisive man as a revolutionary.
RODGERS: In the end, Arafat, ever the symbol of the Palestinian struggle, failed. He failed to produce the independent Palestinian state he promised his own people and he failed to fulfill his dream of praying in the Al Aksa Mosque in Jerusalem.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
WHITFIELD: And now Walter Rodgers joins us live now from London.
Good to see you this morning -- Walter.
Well, as the former bureau chief of Jerusalem, you have many perspectives on the various legacies -- and we just saw that in your piece -- of Yasser Arafat. There will be a legacy that's representing the Palestinian people, perhaps, as a whole, as well as the Israelis.
Can you differentiate for us succinctly which legacies those will be?
RODGERS: Well, it depends on whom you ask, Fredricka. As I said, Arafat was all things to all people. He was a very complex man, far more complex than just the bearded Palestinian with a gun sometimes in one hand and the kefiyah. He had a gun in one hand in his later years, he also had an olive branch in the other.
The problem for Arafat was he could never decide which he wanted to be, the freedom fighter who came very close to getting a Palestinian state and then rejected the offer, or did he want to go down in history as a statesman? He took a look at that abyss and he decided he wasn't going to do it.
The most interesting thing about Arafat, in retrospect, to me, is he's the next to the last icon of the cold war. Yasser Arafat broke on the scene when Lyndon Johnson was president of the United States. Leonid Brezhnev was general secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. And now, as I say, he's the next to the last of the cold war icons to go. Only Fidel Castro still alive -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right, Walter Rodgers, thanks very much for that reflection coming from London.
Well, the speaker of the Palestinian parliament is replacing Arafat as president. Rauhi Fattouh is being sworn in at this hour. His presidency will last 60 days, until elections are held. Who will actually win that election and who will be among the candidates is still unknown. One name that keeps coming up is Mahmoud Abbas. And you saw in Walter Rodgers' piece that there was once a falling out between Arafat and Abbas.
Well, following Arafat's death, the fpm was elected head of the Palestine Liberation Organization following an anonymous vote by the PLO executive committee. Abbas is also a founding member of the political party Fatah. He played an integral role in the 1993 Oslo Accords. Abbas is also known as Abu Mazen.
Reaction to Arafat's death is coming from all parts of the world. U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan said Arafat symbolized the national aspirations of the Palestinian people.
President Bush, meanwhile, spoke to the Palestinian people about a peaceful future. He says, "The death of Yasser Arafat is a significant moment in Palestinian history. We express our condolences to the Palestinian people. For the Palestinian people we hope that the future will bring peace and a fulfillment of their aspirations for an independent democratic Palestine that is at peace with its neighbors." That from President Bush.
Former President Clinton met with Arafat many times in an effort to broker peace in the Middle East. He offered this statement. This from Clinton: "However others viewed him, the Palestinians saw him as the father of their nation. I regret that in 2000 he missed the opportunity to bring that nation into being and pray for the day when the dreams of the Palestinian people for a state and a better life will be realized in a just and lasting place." Those words coming from former President Bill Clinton.
Well, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell is calling for calm in the region as a State Department official prepares to be the administration's envoy to Arafat's funeral.
For more reaction, let's go to Washington, where CNN's Elise Labott is standing by.
Good to see you -- Elise.
ELISE LABOTT, CNN PRODUCER: Good to see you, Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right, well, this seems like...
LABOTT: Well, that...
WHITFIELD: Sorry.
This seems like a real tightrope the U.S. will have to walk to have some sort of representation in order to help plan a path of better Middle East policy. At the same time, there are temp -- it is tempered with some real cautious feelings about representation in Cairo, isn't there?
LABOTT: That's true, Fredricka. The U.S. will be represented by Assistant Secretary William Burns, who is the State Department's point man on the Middle East. He'll be joined by Gamal Helal, who has spent countless hours with Yasser Arafat as the administration's chief interpreter and senior adviser to the -- on the Middle East, for about four presidencies, four administrations.
This certainly is not the representation that the Palestinians were looking for, that, indeed, the Arab world is looking for. They're really looking for a higher level representation. They've called for Secretary of State Colin Powell to come. Nabil Shaath, the Palestinian foreign minister, asked for that in an interview with CNN today, actually.
But the U.S. has -- it's a very delicate issue for the U.S., considering that they've sidelined Yasser Arafat. For two years, the Bush administration has called him an obstacle to peace, would not meet with him. And so they want to show solidarity with the Palestinian people. They want to show their support. But at the same time, they want to be true to their feelings and not glorify Yasser Arafat.
The U.S. will be represented at the burial in Ramallah by the U.S. consul general in Jerusalem, David Pierce -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right, Elise Labott, thanks very much for that update this morning.
Well, some other stories we're working on for you ahead on DAYBREAK.
Another strange twist in the Peterson case. At 19 past the hour, we'll update you with the latest surprise, as the jury deliberates murder charges. Also, at 47 minutes past the hour, we take you inside the battle for Falluja, with the troops, who say the fighting is house to house and very dangerous.
And it's not just women who feel pressured to look perfect. At 54 minutes past the hour, or six minute before the hour, whichever way you want to look at it, we'll meet a man battling his body image.
But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Thursday morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
WHITFIELD: And let's check in this morning with our Chad Myers.
Good morning to you -- Chad.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Fred.
(WEATHER REPORT)
WHITFIELD: Well, another day, another change in the Scott Peterson jury. But does this second juror dismissal present problems for the prosecution?
CNN's David Mattingly has the story from Redwood City, California.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A new day, a new juror, a new foreman. It is the latest surprise from the tumultuous jury deliberations in the Scott Peterson trial. The foreman, identified as Gregory Jackson, was dismissed by the judge. He was both a lawyer and a doctor, who filled stacks of notebooks during the trial.
The new foreman is a young firefighter who took almost no notes and occasionally seemed bored during testimony.
But what this could mean for a jury clearly struggling with the question of Peterson's guilt or innocence is unknown. The judge gave no reason for the change.
ROBERT TALBOT, LAW PROFESSOR: There's some kind of misconduct, something that he did that violated the judge's instructions, and maybe it came out during the deliberations, or maybe he decided to bring it out himself.
MATTINGLY: It was the third day in a row the jury had been called back into court and the second straight dismissal of a juror since deliberations began. The defense objected to the change, possibly laying the groundwork for an appeal, but conventional wisdom says problems in the jury room usually mean problems for the prosecution.
JIM HAMMER, LEGAL ANALYST: Excitement is bad for the prosecution. They want two or three days of quiet deliberation and one note which says we have a verdict. Anything short of that is bad news.
MATTINGLY: Reaction in the court was subtle. Defense Attorney Mark Geragos smiled and put his arm around Scott Peterson. One juror was seen mouthing the words "Oh, man."
(on camera): The change adds yet another new alternate to the jury, sending the six men and six women back to start over again. They'll be taking the holiday off, but will resume deliberations with their new foreman on Friday.
David Mattingly, CNN, Redwood City, California.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
WHITFIELD: More news now across America.
White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales may be the nation's next attorney general. President Bush nominated his long time friend to fill the post vacated by John Ashcroft. The president urged the Senate to move quickly on confirmation hearings. One stumbling block may be Gonzales' apparent approval of torture being used on detainees from Afghanistan at Guantanamo Bay now where they're being held. Courts-martial stemming from the abuses at Abu Ghraib Prison are moving to the United States. The trials of three suspects are being moved from Iraq to Fort Hood in Texas. Specialist Charles Graner will be the first to go on trial in early January. Sergeant Javal Davis and Specialist Sabrina Harmon will also be tried at Fort Hood.
And there are some new details on that dramatic hostage situation at the Mexican consulate in Los Angeles. The man who held a consulate employee at gunpoint was actually carrying a starter pistol. A starter pistol is similar to a cap gun. The suspect remains in critical condition after being shot in the head by police. There is still no known motive for the hostage taking incident in the first place.
President Bush is getting a visit from a close ally today, as Tony Blair hits Washington. He's expected to have the power shift in the Middle East at the top of his agenda. A full report straight ahead.
You're watching DAYBREAK for this Thursday.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: British Prime Minister Tony Blair is pushing peace in the Middle East to the top of his agenda. His reaction to Arafat's death reflected his determination to revive the negotiations.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: Well, obviously he was a huge icon for the Palestinian people and there's no doubt about that at all. And whatever differences we had with him, I think it's right to recognize that. And I think the most important thing is to make sure that we invigorate the peace process, because there's misery for the Palestinians, there's misery for Israelis, who suffer terrorist activity. And in the meantime, we've got a situation where it's a huge source of discontent and a problem within the world. So it's important we deal with it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: The British prime minister arrives in Washington, D.C. to visit with President Bush today. He's the first international leader invited to the White House since Mr. Bush won reelection last week. And with Arafat's death, Blair and the president are sure to discuss the Middle East peace process.
Our senior international editor, David Clinch, is in London, where he joins us this morning to talk a little bit more about the planned visit today -- good to see you this morning.
DAVID CLINCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL EDITOR: Good morning, Fredricka.
How are you?
WHITFIELD: I'm doing pretty good. Well, first, David, Prime Minister Blair was hoping to primarily discuss the war in Iraq when he was to meet with the president, as well as congratulate him on his reelection. But now won't those discussions be splintered by the potential for the Middle East process as a result of Yasser Arafat's death?
CLINCH: Well, certainly. Actually, Prime Minister Blair has been making it clear even before the reelection of President Bush, and certainly since, that he sees the Middle East peace process as -- and the death of Yasser Arafat, which, of course, has not taken place, coincidentally, on the day he heads to Washington -- as an opportunity. We've heard people all over the world talking about this as a turning point, even Prime Minister Sharon.
But Tony Blair has been saying, and he said again today, that it should be the highest priority of the Western powers, of the world, to address the Middle East peace process, which, of course, is, relatively speaking, non-existent at the moment.
And in one sense, Prime Minister Blair has, according to the newspapers here and people here in Britain, been planning to put a certain degree of pressure on President Bush to reengage in the Middle East peace process. And we certainly can expect that, if for no other reason than the coincidence of the death of Yasser Arafat to be on the agenda tonight when he meets with President Bush. And, of course, those meetings continue during the day tomorrow. We may, in fact, hear from them in a joint press conference tomorrow right in the midst of our coverage of the funeral of Yasser Arafat in Ramallah.
So it's sort of a delicate issue. The coincidence, the reelection of President Bush, Prime Minister Blair going to congratulate his ally; the war in Iraq, which, of course, is a very delicate issue for Prime Minister Blair. He is, of course, on the surface, a strong ally, a partner, but often described here in the newspapers in Britain as a poodle to President Bush. And, of course, he has to deal with that issue. There's no real threat to his leadership here in Britain, but certainly to his image it's very important, from his point of view, that he stress that the war in Iraq needs to be dealt with. The British are obviously right there on the firing line, which creates a problem for him here. British soldiers dying at a higher rate than they had been previously. But he's supporting that effort at the same time desperately seeking an opportunity where, with the death of Yasser Arafat, with the reelection of President Bush, to reengage on the Middle East peace process.
Now, of course, it's all well and good for him to speak to President Bush about that. I think he, Prime Minister Blair and President Bush are both obviously aware of the fact that a key question mark there is who is the partner? They know who Ariel Sharon is. Who will the partner that they, both the prime minister and the president, have to deal with on the Palestinian side?
That process, of course, apart from the funeral and all of these various successions, all the different hats that Yasser Arafat wore are being divided up amongst different Palestinians. Who will they be dealing with?
WHITFIELD: So, right now a collective leadership. But who knows what will happen 60 days from now.
When you talk about the pressure that Prime Minister Blair is likely to apply to President Bush, I wonder if some of that pressure might even begin with the representation at the state funeral?
A rather high up authority, with the British government, will be in attendance at the state funeral for Yasser Arafat in Cairo, that being Jack Straw. However, the U.S. is not likely to send someone as high up. Do you think Tony Blair might put some pressure on President Bush that perhaps that will help open up the way for future negotiations to do something like that?
CLINCH: Well, Secretary of Foreign Affairs Jack Straw will be going to the funeral. That is more of a sort of a coordinated effort by Europeans. Most of the European foreign ministers will be attending. No European heads of state, that we know of, will be attending in Cairo or Ramallah, foreign secretaries, foreign ministers.
So that is sort of a logistical, political arrangement here. But it is a message, and fits very much with the pattern of Prime Minister Blair. For a long time, for the last few years, while the Bush administration has pulled completely away from dealing with the Palestinians, has continued to make an effort to present himself as a broker, as a peace broker.
And Jack Straw's attendance at the funeral fits with that. Some of this pressure, of course, Prime Minister Blair to Bush, will be behind the scenes. Not necessarily in the public events or at the press conferences, but very interesting coincidence.
WHITFIELD: All right, Senior International Editor David Clinch, thanks so much.
All right here's all what's new in the next half hour. We hear from a top former Clinton diplomat about his experiences in attempting to negotiate peace in the Middle East with Yasser Arafat.
And Palestinians mourn their leaders. What happens in the Middle East without Yasser Arafat?
It is Thursday, November 11, and this is DAYBREAK.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired November 11, 2004 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): Mr. Yasser Arafat, president of the Palestinian Authority, has died.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: A lightning rod for controversy, revered and reviled, what does Yasser Arafat's death overnight mean for the Middle East?
It's Thursday, November 11, and this is DAYBREAK.
Good morning.
From the CNN Global Headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Fredricka Whitfield in this morning for Carol Costello.
Palestinian Parliament Speaker Rauhi Fattouh is replacing Arafat as president. Fattouh will serve in an interim capacity until elections are held within 60 days. Former Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas takes Arafat's title as head of the PLO. Arafat's body will head for Cairo, Egypt, where a state funeral will be held Friday morning. Then he will be interred near his compound in Ramallah. But chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat insists that it's just a temporary resting place.
A busy commercial street in central Baghdad was rocked by a large explosion just about 90 minutes ago. Iraqi officials say there are 12 dead. Officials suspect a car bomb.
But now to other top stories. The Palestinian people are mourning the death of the only leader many of them have ever known. Yasser Arafat's death comes 13 days after flying to Paris for hospitalization.
For details now on what's next, we're joined by CNN's Cairo bureau chief Ben Wedeman -- Ben. BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Fredricka, we expect a military funeral to be held here in Cairo 11:00 a.m. Friday. That's 23 hours from now. It's going to be a military funeral, according to Egyptian officials, held near the Cairo airport in a mosque where a prayer service will be held.
Now, the Egyptian officials are expecting several head of states from the Arab world as well as from beyond. We're hearing that the president of Indonesia, South Africa, the foreign minister of the United Kingdom, the assistant secretary of state of the United States, William Burns, will be attending. We are seeing a definite increase in security on the streets of Cairo. They're going to be keeping a fairly tight lid on the situation.
Fortunately, the funeral will be taking place on a Friday, which is the weekend here in Egypt. The United States Embassy, in fact, has issued a warning to U.S. citizens in Cairo to stay away from the center of the city. They fear there could be spontaneous protests or demonstrations and are advising Americans to basically stay at home tomorrow.
Many Egyptians obviously mourning the death of Yasser Arafat. He was somebody who embodied the Palestinian cause. Yasser Arafat, in fact, spent many years here in Cairo. He studied engineering at Cairo University. In fact, he spoke Arabic with an Egyptian accent. So he's somebody who Egyptians will be mourning, certainly, tomorrow when that funeral takes place -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: And, Ben, are people there in Egypt reacting, speaking to what they hope will be perhaps a turning point in any kind of Middle East policy as a result of Yasser Arafat's death?
WEDEMAN: Well, certainly we have been hearing suggestions from Egyptian officials that they are a bit frustrated with the leadership or they were frustrated with the leadership of Yasser Arafat and they're hoping that the new leadership will be able to move forward in the peace process.
If you speak to ordinary Egyptians, they're not so concerned with the finer points of diplomacy. They are just upset at the death of the Palestinian leader -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right, Ben Wedeman, thanks very much for that update from Cairo, Egypt.
To the Palestinians, Yasser Arafat was father. To their neighbors, the Israelis, he was a terrorist.
Our senior international correspondent Walter Rodgers has more now on how Arafat is being remembered.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
WALTER RODGERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Yasser Arafat was all things to all people -- the leader of the Palestinian people's struggle for an independent country of their own; an international icon of the cold war and the wars of national liberation; and a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.
But to Israelis like Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Arafat was a terrorist and a murderer and Sharon, a former Israeli Army general, spent no little effort over the years trying to kill the Palestinian leader. Some saw it as a case of two old men trying to settle scores. The Israelis had an army, Palestinians had a will to fight.
Arafat had many flaws. He was, at times, flagrantly dishonest, claiming, among other things, he was born in Jerusalem, when there is documentary evidence he was born in Egypt of Palestinian parents in 1929.
But his fatal flaw may have been his assumption that the bridges he built with the United States in the previous decade would somehow save him in the presidency of George Bush the younger.
YASSER ARAFAT: Not to forget that the Madrid Conference had started with President Bush the father. And I hope and I am sure that President Bush the son will complete it.
RODGERS: Arafat had more narrow escapes with death than Houdini and the late Syrian President Hafez Assad tried to kill him. He also nearly died in a plane crash.
Perhaps nowhere more than in the Middle East does blood beget blood so easily. Plots against Arafat, PLO plots against its enemies. Arafat headed the Palestine Liberation Organization during a rash of terrorist incidents, including hijackings. At the time, the PLO was so riddled with factions, it was sometimes unclear which faction did the killing. But ultimately Arafat was blamed.
When Arafat and his Palestine Liberation Organization were based in Beirut in 1982, then Israeli General Ariel Sharon repeatedly tried to kill him there. Trapped, the United States and the international community helped Arafat and his fighters escape into exile.
The first intifada in 1987 persuaded moderate Israelis and much of the world that Palestinians had legitimate grievances to be addressed. There were White House agreements, a peace process had been launched in Oslo. Hope and a moment of triumph, Arafat extended his hand to a former enemy. Israel allowed Arafat to go home to Gaza.
But Palestinian extremists wanted Arafat to fail -- bus bombs, suicide attacks, terror. Arafat had mortgaged his future to a badly flawed peace process. Opponents of that peace process in Israel and among the Palestinians guaranteed its failure.
By late 2002, Arafat's cabinet had resigned. It appeared he was losing power. Israel and the U.S. lost faith in his inclination to deliver peace. They were pushing Arafat toward a reduced role and wanted him to appoint a prime minister whom all sides could trust. He eventually appointed Mahmoud Abbas, but the two men quarreled. Russia, the United States, the United Nations and the European Union created a new initiative, the so-called road map toward peace that called for Arafat's dream, establishment of a Palestinian state within two years.
But the U.S. and Israel vowed not to deal with Arafat anymore.
Yet Abbas failed to control suicide bombings, Arafat did not want to give up power and Israel continued its attacks on Palestinian militant leaders. So, five months after he was appointed, Abbas quit.
Arafat appointed yet another prime minister, but the road map had been seriously damaged. Violence between Israel and the Palestinians continued and Israel announced Arafat was to be exiled. Ultimately, Arafat became his own worst enemy. In return for peace, a liberal Israeli prime minister and the president of the United States were ready to give him 97 percent of the West Bank, part of Jerusalem and a Palestinian state. Arafat hesitated, gambled for more and lost everything, including credibility.
ABDEL BARI ATWAN, "AL QUDS": He didn't actually complete anything he started. This is his dilemma. So that's why I say Arafat will be remembered of a man, an indecisive man as a politician, as an -- and also an indecisive man as a revolutionary.
RODGERS: In the end, Arafat, ever the symbol of the Palestinian struggle, failed. He failed to produce the independent Palestinian state he promised his own people and he failed to fulfill his dream of praying in the Al Aksa Mosque in Jerusalem.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
WHITFIELD: And now Walter Rodgers joins us live now from London.
Good to see you this morning -- Walter.
Well, as the former bureau chief of Jerusalem, you have many perspectives on the various legacies -- and we just saw that in your piece -- of Yasser Arafat. There will be a legacy that's representing the Palestinian people, perhaps, as a whole, as well as the Israelis.
Can you differentiate for us succinctly which legacies those will be?
RODGERS: Well, it depends on whom you ask, Fredricka. As I said, Arafat was all things to all people. He was a very complex man, far more complex than just the bearded Palestinian with a gun sometimes in one hand and the kefiyah. He had a gun in one hand in his later years, he also had an olive branch in the other.
The problem for Arafat was he could never decide which he wanted to be, the freedom fighter who came very close to getting a Palestinian state and then rejected the offer, or did he want to go down in history as a statesman? He took a look at that abyss and he decided he wasn't going to do it.
The most interesting thing about Arafat, in retrospect, to me, is he's the next to the last icon of the cold war. Yasser Arafat broke on the scene when Lyndon Johnson was president of the United States. Leonid Brezhnev was general secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. And now, as I say, he's the next to the last of the cold war icons to go. Only Fidel Castro still alive -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right, Walter Rodgers, thanks very much for that reflection coming from London.
Well, the speaker of the Palestinian parliament is replacing Arafat as president. Rauhi Fattouh is being sworn in at this hour. His presidency will last 60 days, until elections are held. Who will actually win that election and who will be among the candidates is still unknown. One name that keeps coming up is Mahmoud Abbas. And you saw in Walter Rodgers' piece that there was once a falling out between Arafat and Abbas.
Well, following Arafat's death, the fpm was elected head of the Palestine Liberation Organization following an anonymous vote by the PLO executive committee. Abbas is also a founding member of the political party Fatah. He played an integral role in the 1993 Oslo Accords. Abbas is also known as Abu Mazen.
Reaction to Arafat's death is coming from all parts of the world. U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan said Arafat symbolized the national aspirations of the Palestinian people.
President Bush, meanwhile, spoke to the Palestinian people about a peaceful future. He says, "The death of Yasser Arafat is a significant moment in Palestinian history. We express our condolences to the Palestinian people. For the Palestinian people we hope that the future will bring peace and a fulfillment of their aspirations for an independent democratic Palestine that is at peace with its neighbors." That from President Bush.
Former President Clinton met with Arafat many times in an effort to broker peace in the Middle East. He offered this statement. This from Clinton: "However others viewed him, the Palestinians saw him as the father of their nation. I regret that in 2000 he missed the opportunity to bring that nation into being and pray for the day when the dreams of the Palestinian people for a state and a better life will be realized in a just and lasting place." Those words coming from former President Bill Clinton.
Well, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell is calling for calm in the region as a State Department official prepares to be the administration's envoy to Arafat's funeral.
For more reaction, let's go to Washington, where CNN's Elise Labott is standing by.
Good to see you -- Elise.
ELISE LABOTT, CNN PRODUCER: Good to see you, Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right, well, this seems like...
LABOTT: Well, that...
WHITFIELD: Sorry.
This seems like a real tightrope the U.S. will have to walk to have some sort of representation in order to help plan a path of better Middle East policy. At the same time, there are temp -- it is tempered with some real cautious feelings about representation in Cairo, isn't there?
LABOTT: That's true, Fredricka. The U.S. will be represented by Assistant Secretary William Burns, who is the State Department's point man on the Middle East. He'll be joined by Gamal Helal, who has spent countless hours with Yasser Arafat as the administration's chief interpreter and senior adviser to the -- on the Middle East, for about four presidencies, four administrations.
This certainly is not the representation that the Palestinians were looking for, that, indeed, the Arab world is looking for. They're really looking for a higher level representation. They've called for Secretary of State Colin Powell to come. Nabil Shaath, the Palestinian foreign minister, asked for that in an interview with CNN today, actually.
But the U.S. has -- it's a very delicate issue for the U.S., considering that they've sidelined Yasser Arafat. For two years, the Bush administration has called him an obstacle to peace, would not meet with him. And so they want to show solidarity with the Palestinian people. They want to show their support. But at the same time, they want to be true to their feelings and not glorify Yasser Arafat.
The U.S. will be represented at the burial in Ramallah by the U.S. consul general in Jerusalem, David Pierce -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right, Elise Labott, thanks very much for that update this morning.
Well, some other stories we're working on for you ahead on DAYBREAK.
Another strange twist in the Peterson case. At 19 past the hour, we'll update you with the latest surprise, as the jury deliberates murder charges. Also, at 47 minutes past the hour, we take you inside the battle for Falluja, with the troops, who say the fighting is house to house and very dangerous.
And it's not just women who feel pressured to look perfect. At 54 minutes past the hour, or six minute before the hour, whichever way you want to look at it, we'll meet a man battling his body image.
But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Thursday morning.
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WHITFIELD: And let's check in this morning with our Chad Myers.
Good morning to you -- Chad.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Fred.
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WHITFIELD: Well, another day, another change in the Scott Peterson jury. But does this second juror dismissal present problems for the prosecution?
CNN's David Mattingly has the story from Redwood City, California.
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DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A new day, a new juror, a new foreman. It is the latest surprise from the tumultuous jury deliberations in the Scott Peterson trial. The foreman, identified as Gregory Jackson, was dismissed by the judge. He was both a lawyer and a doctor, who filled stacks of notebooks during the trial.
The new foreman is a young firefighter who took almost no notes and occasionally seemed bored during testimony.
But what this could mean for a jury clearly struggling with the question of Peterson's guilt or innocence is unknown. The judge gave no reason for the change.
ROBERT TALBOT, LAW PROFESSOR: There's some kind of misconduct, something that he did that violated the judge's instructions, and maybe it came out during the deliberations, or maybe he decided to bring it out himself.
MATTINGLY: It was the third day in a row the jury had been called back into court and the second straight dismissal of a juror since deliberations began. The defense objected to the change, possibly laying the groundwork for an appeal, but conventional wisdom says problems in the jury room usually mean problems for the prosecution.
JIM HAMMER, LEGAL ANALYST: Excitement is bad for the prosecution. They want two or three days of quiet deliberation and one note which says we have a verdict. Anything short of that is bad news.
MATTINGLY: Reaction in the court was subtle. Defense Attorney Mark Geragos smiled and put his arm around Scott Peterson. One juror was seen mouthing the words "Oh, man."
(on camera): The change adds yet another new alternate to the jury, sending the six men and six women back to start over again. They'll be taking the holiday off, but will resume deliberations with their new foreman on Friday.
David Mattingly, CNN, Redwood City, California.
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WHITFIELD: More news now across America.
White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales may be the nation's next attorney general. President Bush nominated his long time friend to fill the post vacated by John Ashcroft. The president urged the Senate to move quickly on confirmation hearings. One stumbling block may be Gonzales' apparent approval of torture being used on detainees from Afghanistan at Guantanamo Bay now where they're being held. Courts-martial stemming from the abuses at Abu Ghraib Prison are moving to the United States. The trials of three suspects are being moved from Iraq to Fort Hood in Texas. Specialist Charles Graner will be the first to go on trial in early January. Sergeant Javal Davis and Specialist Sabrina Harmon will also be tried at Fort Hood.
And there are some new details on that dramatic hostage situation at the Mexican consulate in Los Angeles. The man who held a consulate employee at gunpoint was actually carrying a starter pistol. A starter pistol is similar to a cap gun. The suspect remains in critical condition after being shot in the head by police. There is still no known motive for the hostage taking incident in the first place.
President Bush is getting a visit from a close ally today, as Tony Blair hits Washington. He's expected to have the power shift in the Middle East at the top of his agenda. A full report straight ahead.
You're watching DAYBREAK for this Thursday.
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WHITFIELD: British Prime Minister Tony Blair is pushing peace in the Middle East to the top of his agenda. His reaction to Arafat's death reflected his determination to revive the negotiations.
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TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: Well, obviously he was a huge icon for the Palestinian people and there's no doubt about that at all. And whatever differences we had with him, I think it's right to recognize that. And I think the most important thing is to make sure that we invigorate the peace process, because there's misery for the Palestinians, there's misery for Israelis, who suffer terrorist activity. And in the meantime, we've got a situation where it's a huge source of discontent and a problem within the world. So it's important we deal with it.
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WHITFIELD: The British prime minister arrives in Washington, D.C. to visit with President Bush today. He's the first international leader invited to the White House since Mr. Bush won reelection last week. And with Arafat's death, Blair and the president are sure to discuss the Middle East peace process.
Our senior international editor, David Clinch, is in London, where he joins us this morning to talk a little bit more about the planned visit today -- good to see you this morning.
DAVID CLINCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL EDITOR: Good morning, Fredricka.
How are you?
WHITFIELD: I'm doing pretty good. Well, first, David, Prime Minister Blair was hoping to primarily discuss the war in Iraq when he was to meet with the president, as well as congratulate him on his reelection. But now won't those discussions be splintered by the potential for the Middle East process as a result of Yasser Arafat's death?
CLINCH: Well, certainly. Actually, Prime Minister Blair has been making it clear even before the reelection of President Bush, and certainly since, that he sees the Middle East peace process as -- and the death of Yasser Arafat, which, of course, has not taken place, coincidentally, on the day he heads to Washington -- as an opportunity. We've heard people all over the world talking about this as a turning point, even Prime Minister Sharon.
But Tony Blair has been saying, and he said again today, that it should be the highest priority of the Western powers, of the world, to address the Middle East peace process, which, of course, is, relatively speaking, non-existent at the moment.
And in one sense, Prime Minister Blair has, according to the newspapers here and people here in Britain, been planning to put a certain degree of pressure on President Bush to reengage in the Middle East peace process. And we certainly can expect that, if for no other reason than the coincidence of the death of Yasser Arafat to be on the agenda tonight when he meets with President Bush. And, of course, those meetings continue during the day tomorrow. We may, in fact, hear from them in a joint press conference tomorrow right in the midst of our coverage of the funeral of Yasser Arafat in Ramallah.
So it's sort of a delicate issue. The coincidence, the reelection of President Bush, Prime Minister Blair going to congratulate his ally; the war in Iraq, which, of course, is a very delicate issue for Prime Minister Blair. He is, of course, on the surface, a strong ally, a partner, but often described here in the newspapers in Britain as a poodle to President Bush. And, of course, he has to deal with that issue. There's no real threat to his leadership here in Britain, but certainly to his image it's very important, from his point of view, that he stress that the war in Iraq needs to be dealt with. The British are obviously right there on the firing line, which creates a problem for him here. British soldiers dying at a higher rate than they had been previously. But he's supporting that effort at the same time desperately seeking an opportunity where, with the death of Yasser Arafat, with the reelection of President Bush, to reengage on the Middle East peace process.
Now, of course, it's all well and good for him to speak to President Bush about that. I think he, Prime Minister Blair and President Bush are both obviously aware of the fact that a key question mark there is who is the partner? They know who Ariel Sharon is. Who will the partner that they, both the prime minister and the president, have to deal with on the Palestinian side?
That process, of course, apart from the funeral and all of these various successions, all the different hats that Yasser Arafat wore are being divided up amongst different Palestinians. Who will they be dealing with?
WHITFIELD: So, right now a collective leadership. But who knows what will happen 60 days from now.
When you talk about the pressure that Prime Minister Blair is likely to apply to President Bush, I wonder if some of that pressure might even begin with the representation at the state funeral?
A rather high up authority, with the British government, will be in attendance at the state funeral for Yasser Arafat in Cairo, that being Jack Straw. However, the U.S. is not likely to send someone as high up. Do you think Tony Blair might put some pressure on President Bush that perhaps that will help open up the way for future negotiations to do something like that?
CLINCH: Well, Secretary of Foreign Affairs Jack Straw will be going to the funeral. That is more of a sort of a coordinated effort by Europeans. Most of the European foreign ministers will be attending. No European heads of state, that we know of, will be attending in Cairo or Ramallah, foreign secretaries, foreign ministers.
So that is sort of a logistical, political arrangement here. But it is a message, and fits very much with the pattern of Prime Minister Blair. For a long time, for the last few years, while the Bush administration has pulled completely away from dealing with the Palestinians, has continued to make an effort to present himself as a broker, as a peace broker.
And Jack Straw's attendance at the funeral fits with that. Some of this pressure, of course, Prime Minister Blair to Bush, will be behind the scenes. Not necessarily in the public events or at the press conferences, but very interesting coincidence.
WHITFIELD: All right, Senior International Editor David Clinch, thanks so much.
All right here's all what's new in the next half hour. We hear from a top former Clinton diplomat about his experiences in attempting to negotiate peace in the Middle East with Yasser Arafat.
And Palestinians mourn their leaders. What happens in the Middle East without Yasser Arafat?
It is Thursday, November 11, and this is DAYBREAK.
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