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Source: http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-oe-satloff12sep12,1,795946.story
U.S. Must Weigh In: Arafat Has Got to Go
(Los Angeles Times) Robert Satloff - In June 2002, President Bush boldly called for "new Palestinian leadership" as a precondition for U.S. support for Palestinian statehood. That revolutionary declaration recognized that no positive change in Palestinian politics or the peace process could occur with Yasser Arafat at the helm. If the Bush administration wants to salvage its Arab-Israeli initiative, it must now base any further U.S. support for Palestinian statehood on Arafat actually stepping aside, just as it told Liberia's Charles Taylor, the Philippines' Ferdinand Marcos, and Haiti's Raul Cedras. For the U.S. to support the Palestinian people's desire for statehood, Arafat must resign all positions in the Palestinian political hierarchy and accept permanent retirement, outside the West Bank and Gaza or any contiguous state. Forcing Arafat into exile will not bring peace overnight, but when the dust settles, a major hurdle will have been overcome.