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CNN Live Saturday

U.S. Considers Breaking Ties With Palestinian Authority

Aired January 26, 2002 - 12:09   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.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Now to the Middle East. Israel says airstrikes against Palestinian targets in the West Bank and Gaza were in retaliation for yesterday's suicide bombing and other Palestinian attacks. Today, Palestinians took to the streets to show their support for Yasser Arafat. President Bush has accused him of, quote, "enhancing terror," and the U.S. is considering whether to break ties with the Palestinian Authority.

But as CNN's Jerrold Kessel reports, Arafat's backers are not backing down.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JERROLD KESSEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ironically, as Yasser Arafat's situation seems more and more precarious, more and more backing for him on the Palestinian street, a rally of thousands in Bethlehem, the latest show of support.

The chant here: "America, the same America, the head of the snake."

Another fixture now, Israeli tanks perched ominously right outside Yasser Arafat's West Bank headquarters. But inside the Palestinian leader's compound, supporters gather to back his defiance of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

"His tanks," Mr. Arafat declares, "they could not shake us when they besieged us in Beirut. Now we're in Palestine," he says with a flourish. "Now, what hope has he of shaking us."

Some hope no hope.

The naked Israeli pressure on Mr. Arafat has now been compounded by American pressure.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I am disappointed in Yasser Arafat.

KESSEL: Washington warning that unless he makes good on his promises to combat Palestinian militants, the Bush administration could go so far as to wash its hands of further contacts with him.

SAEB ERAKAT, PALESTINIAN CABINET MINISTER: As the people in the crisis, we need the help of a third party, and not to have this attack on us by the Americans in order to give Sharon the green light to continue the war of escalation.

KESSEL: Following the U.S. strictures, the Palestinian leadership issued a renewed call for its declared cease-fire to be strictly heeded, but top Arafat aides voiced dismay at Washington hints that it's close to designating Arafat more part of the problem than part of the solution.

ERAKAT: I believe President Bush knows very well that Sharon is not a man of peace, is a man destroying the peace process, destroying the Palestinian Authority, but at the same time, it doesn't cost President Bush anything to attack the Palestinians and to take sides with the Israelis against the Palestinians because of internal politics.

KESSEL: Beyond the deadly tit-for-tat exchanges, a sense this conflict is moving more towards a key strategic moment, Arafat battling for survival, Sharon seeking to deny him any attempt to breach his growing isolation.

CHEMI SHALEV, POLITICAL ANALYST: I don't think the Americans are under any illusions concerning the possibilities where this situation could go from Mr. Sharon's point of view, and therefore, if they're taking the steps that they're taking, they are taking into account that if there is another major terrorist attack, Mr. Sharon might go full ahead and get rid of Mr. Arafat.

KESSEL: The Israeli leadership revels in what it sees as a diplomatic triumph, but some see distant dangers lurking behind the present strategy.

SHALEV: There is a possibility that those who claim that Arafat should be pressured are right, and that he will now respond in the fight against terrorism. There is the possibility that they are wrong, and that he is like a wounded animal now in a corner.

And just like the intifada itself broke out a year ago when Arafat was surrounded and condemned by America and by the European community, there is a concern that the same thing will happen now and he will feel that he doesn't have anything left to lose. And that he will, instead of deciding to fight terrorism, he will decide to unleash it against the Israelis in the hope of mixing things up and perhaps improving his position.

KESSEL (on camera): Mr. Sharon, meanwhile, will be able to travel to Washington for another meeting at the White House in 10 days' time, knowing that with the Bush administration now also turning the screw on Yasser Arafat, the argument of those in his government, like his foreign minister, Shimon Peres, who want the prime emphasis to be on getting back to negotiations, has been considerably weakened.

Jerrold Kessel, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: The Bush administration is considering a range of options for dealing with Yasser Arafat and the escalating crisis in the Middle East. More on that now from CNN White House correspondent Kelly Wallace. She joins us live from Washington.

Kelly, no doubt the president discussing with his advisers, probably as we speak, what should be the next step. He has a few options. One would be closing the PLO office in Washington. Another would be severing ties altogether. What, if any, change might be imminent in your view?

KELLY WALLACE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, administration officials, Fredricka, say that there's really no timeline here. Clearly, the immediate strategy is to try to ratchet up the pressure on the Palestinian leader. That's why, as you saw, President Bush talking very tough yesterday; Secretary of State Colin Powell as well. President Bush also reaching out this week to leaders of Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan, encouraging them to put pressure on the Palestinian leader.

Also, we know that Anthony Zinni, he, as you know, is the United States' Middle East envoy. Officials say the time is still not right for him to return to the region, so that is another way the administration can put the pressure on Mr. Arafat and say, "Look, we won't be sending him to the region until you take more steps."

The administration looking to see him crack down on terrorism; also to come forward with what the U.S. officials believe is the Palestinian Authority's involvement in that arms shipment -- that shipment of arms from Iran that was intercepted by the Israelis earlier this month.

So the word is no timetable that his administration is working on, that it is looking at a series of options, but the sense we're getting, Fredricka, is that U.S. officials hope just by the administration discussing these option that in and of itself puts more pressure on Arafat to act -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And according to a Reuter's reporter earlier today, PLO leader Yasser Arafat himself said that the pressure should be put on the U.S. to try and keep the Middle East peace talks going. Any reaction so far from the White House this morning?

WALLACE: Yes, interesting -- we talked to a senior administration official a short time ago, telling this official just what Mr. Arafat was saying. And this official says, "Look, this is not about what the U.S. can, should or might do. This is about what the Palestinian leader should be doing."

You heard the secretary of state say, I believe yesterday, that it really is a moment of truth for the Palestinian leader. So U.S. officials really dismissing those comments from the Palestinian leader, saying he fully know what he must do, that he is the leader of the Palestinian people, the leader of the Palestinian Authority, and right now, this administration will be watching for action, not words, and then making a decision about where it goes from here -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And is Bush meeting with any Republican leader in the next few hours discussing any things that may be on his plate for the State of the Union Address that's coming up on Tuesday? WALLACE: He certainly is. He had a number of Republican leaders, some 20 member, House and Senate Republican leaders at Camp David with him at the presidential retreat. We have a photo taken, showing the leaders and the president and the vice president sitting together talking about legislative strategy for this year. As you know, Fredricka, it's a political year. Obviously control of Congress up for grabs in November -- discussing that, discussing a domestic agenda. The president outlining the issues he'll be focusing on in his address on Tuesday.

It will be a difficult balancing act, Fredricka, for the president. On the one hand, he'll want to be putting pressure on lawmakers to get his domestic agenda passed. He will also, though, be trying to help his party hold onto control of Congress in the fall, so it should be an interesting year.

WHITFIELD: All right. Certainly a lot of pressure on him and a lot on his plate today that's for sure. Thanks very much -- Kelly Wallace reporting from the White House.

WALLACE: And welcome to CNN, by the way, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Thank you very much. Thank you very much.

WALLACE: Glad to have you hear.

WHITFIELD: We'll be talking to you again soon.

WALLACE: OK.

WHITFIELD: All right. Would the U.S. really break ties with Yasser Arafat? And if so, who would take his place? Joining us from our Washington bureau to talk about that is Mark Perry. He is a noted author, journalist and a Middle East expert -- hi there, Mark.

MARK PERRY, FOREIGN POLICY ANALYST: Good to see you -- good to be here.

WHITFIELD: All right. Well, what are the chances, if not Arafat, then who?

PERRY: Well, that's a good question, and I'm not sure the United States is in a position to really answer the question. There are leaders in the Palestinian Authority outside of Yasser Arafat, but he is the democratically-elected leader of the Palestinian people. We saw in your report today he has strong support there. I can't think of another option outside of Yasser Arafat, but certainly the Palestinian people have a designated and option outside of Yasser Arafat.

WHITFIELD: It has been widely reported this morning that President Bush had some pretty harsh words yesterday, blaming Arafat in part for the recent weapons that made their way into the Palestinian area through Iraq (sic). In your view, is this dangerous territory that we're now entering as a nation that he is, indeed, for the first time placing blame directly on Arafat? PERRY: Well, I don't think he has many options. This shipment of arms from Iran was a wake up call to the Israelis and to the United States, but there is a great deal of skepticism, even inside the administration that Mr. Arafat himself was responsible. I don't think that there is evidence, and no one in the administration has said there is evidence against him personally.

That the Palestinians would be smuggling arms is not at all surprising. You know, they have new weapons every day, and they get them from somewhere. And it's clear that they are now engaged in a spiral of violence with the Israelis, and they're going to defend themselves. This is a very difficult situation.

WHITFIELD: If the U.S. does break relations with the Palestinians, there have been some talks from some experts who say that this would mean that the U.S. would simply be giving up on the peace process. How do you see it?

PERRY: I think that's right, and people who discuss this in the administration are asking the right question: If we break relations with the Palestinian Authority or with Yasser Arafat, then what? And what happens then is what everyone is really afraid of -- continuing violence. I think it gives a green light, unfortunately, to Mr. Sharon to assassinate Yasser Arafat, and then, we might well be caught in a region-wide conflagration, and nobody wants that.

WHITFIELD: All right. If talks are tough now, then it's only certain that talks are going to continue to be rather tough now -- rather tough in the future, since we're seeing so many retaliatory strikes taking place. What do you see the immediate future being?

PERRY: I think we're in a pattern of continued escalation, unfortunately. We see today that the Israelis have attacked the Palestinian security services. It's very difficult for Mr. Arafat to control those security services, when they are being attacked. It's very difficult for him to order then to crack down on terrorist, when they are being attacked. And they are not likely, at some future point, to obey those orders.

So we have to get out of this cycle of violence. I believe Shimon Peres is right. We have to plot a strategy for returning to the peace talks, and we have to get back to the peace talks just as soon as possible.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks very much, Mark Perry, for joining us out of Washington.

PERRY: Thank you.

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