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Barak: Arafat 'A Rogue Leader'
Former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak called Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat a "rogue leader and a thug" and compared him to Slobodan Milosevic of Yugoslavia, Saddam Hussein of Iraq and Osama Bin Laden of Saudi Arabia.
"Arafat should not be able to get away with it," Barak told The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a pro-Israel think tank. He was making his first visit to Washington since losing an election to Ariel Sharon. Barak, who met with Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage earlier Thursday, said Western governments should give the Palestinian leader the cold shoulder. The Bush administration has yet to invite Arafat, who was a frequent visitor to the Clinton White House.
Barak's words were the strongest any mainstream Israeli politician has made about Arafat in recent months and could strengthen calls on Capitol Hill to treat elements of the Palestinian Authority as terrorist groups.
Barak has previously blamed Arafat for the failure of negotiations at Camp David last year. But his comments Thursday were harsher.
"He lies whenever it serves his purposes," Barak said.
Hassan Abdel Rahman, the Palestinian Authority's representative in Washington, called Barak's remarks "unfortunate."
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