(Los Angeles Times) The Bush administration is preparing to advance the stalled Middle East peace effort by strengthening the moderate Palestinian leadership that it hopes will emerge with Arafat's death, U.S. officials said Thursday. The president named Assistant Secretary of State William Burns to represent the U.S. at Arafat's funeral in Cairo. Some critics argued that the selection of a lower-ranking official was likely to offend Palestinians and other Arabs, because many nations would send foreign ministers or heads of state. But the selection was more than some in the administration had wanted. Some White House officials, who consider Arafat a terrorist, had argued that no official U.S. representative should attend.
2004-11-12 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive