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CNN Live Saturday

Who Is Yasser Arafat?

Aired April 13, 2002 - 13:21   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.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Yasser Arafat will meet tomorrow with the Secretary of State Colin Powell. That meeting will occur in Ramallah at what once was an elaborate, but now a much less elaborate Palestinian Authority headquarters compound in that West Bank of town.

But who exactly is Yasser Arafat? His image has changed dramatically over many years. Our Garrick Utley takes a closer look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARRICK UTLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): For three decades, he's been a world figure, loved by his supporters, hated by his enemies. But who is Yasser Arafat? Is he the smiley man of peace who signed that historic agreement in 1993 and shook hands with Israel's leaders or, has he always been a man of violence to attain his goals? And why does Secretary of State Powell want to deal with him?

SHIBLEY TELHAMI, UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND: Arafat is the only Palestinian leader at this time who can actually still legitimize a deal. If you don't deal with Arafat, with whom do you deal? He is the elected President of the Palestinian Authority.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: From the outset, Yasser Arafat was really seen as the embodiment of the Palestinian terrorist movement for American Jews and I might say for most Americans.

GERRICK: And what Americans think of Yasser Arafat has fluctuated with events. Twenty years ago, 62 percent of those surveyed had a negative impression of him. The contradictions in the man have been evident since his first dramatic appearance at the United Nations when he said he had come with an olive branch in one hand and the gun of a revolutionary in the other. What were people to think?

As young Palestinians throwing stones faced off against Israeli soldiers and tanks during the first intifada of the late 1980s, sympathy for the Palestinian plight grew outside the Middle East, and the Nobel Peace Prize presented to Arafat and Israeli leaders for their agreement to end their conflict, did change attitudes towards the Palestinian leader. For the first time, the number of Americans with an unfavorable view of Arafat sank below 50 percent.

But then, it all went wrong. Opportunities for peace were missed. Violence spiraled upward. Palestinians and Israelis plunged deeper into their mutual hatred. And much of the improvement Arafat had won vanished as the Palestinian suicide bombings escalated.

In the most recent survey, 73 percent of Americans had an unfavorable view of Yasser Arafat, including President Bush.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The situation in which he finds himself today is largely of his own making. He's missed his opportunities, and thereby betrayed the hopes of the people he's supposed to lead.

UTLEY: And yet, Yasser Arafat will most likely emerge from his ordeal more popular than ever among his people.

TELHAMI: If you watch Arab TV today, you'll find callers calling in and saluting Arafat for his resistance, calling him a symbol of the struggle. That's different from the way things were only a year ago.

UTLEY: In the end, Yasser Arafat may be seen as a hero to his supporters, or a mortal threat to his enemies. He is also a survivor, who once again has lived to fight, or negotiate, another day.

Garrick Utley, CNN.

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