FRIDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2004
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
NEWS
7A
Arafat leaves West Bank for medical care in Paris
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
RAMALLAH, West Bank — An ailing Yasser Arafat — too weak to stand, unable to hold down food and spending most of yesterday sleeping — agreed to leave his battered West Bank compound for the first time in more than two years and fly to Paris for urgent medical treatment.
The 75-year-old Palestinian leader's planned departure Friday, a decade after he arrived in the West Bank with the promise of statehood, could mark the end of an era. Arafat, who hoarded power and declined to groom a successor, leaves behind a people in disarray.
Blood tests revealed he had a low platelet count, though it was unclear what caused the ailment, his doctors said, ruling out leukemia. In deference to his deteriorating condition, Israel lifted its travel ban on Arafat, allowing him to leave his battered headquarters compound in Ramallah for the first time since 2002 and to return if he recovers.
Arafat will be moved to the Jordanian capital of Amman early today, then continue on to Paris for medical treatment, said Munnib al-Masri, an Arafat aide. Jordan sent two helicopters to pick up Arafat.
Palestinians across the Middle East anxiously, but quietly, monitored Arafat's health yesterday, but there was no mass vigil around his compound or any other public displays of support.
"I pray to God to save him because we need him, he is the safety valve for everything here, he is the father of all the Palestinians," said Imad Samara, a teacher from Gaza City.
Palestinian officials tried to play down Arafat's health problems earlier yesterday, saying he performed Muslim prayers before dawn and ate a light breakfast of cornflakes and milk.
They released a brief video and two photos showing him sitting in a chair, wearing blue pajamas and a dark stocking cap and smiling broadly as he posed with his doctors Thursday afternoon. In the video, he holds two of his doctors' hands and leans
over to kiss one of them.
Dr. Ashraf Kurdi said there was no immediate threat to Arafat's life. "His condition is good, his spirits are high," Kurdi said.
But the seriousness of his condition was underscored by the rushed arrival of Arafat's 41-year-old wife, Suha, who lives in Paris with their young daughter and has not seen her husband since 2001.
Despite Israel's promise to let Arafat return, his deteriorating condition and departure from the West Bank are likely to dramatically change Palestinian politics.
A close associate said Arafat spent most of Thursday sleeping. Arafat has been unable to hold down food, and also suffers from diarrhea, the associate said. At times, Arafat appeared confused, not recognizing some of his visitors, he added.
Bulldozers entered Arafat's compound Thursday night and began clearing away rubble and cars crushed by Israeli raids there, presumably to make room for a makeshift helipad.
Campaigns focus on Iraq war
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
SAGINAW, Mich. — Bitingly personal, President Bush called U.S. Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) too weak and wavering for wartime leadership yesterday while the Democrat held Bush responsible for missing explosives in Iraq.
"The commander in chief is not getting his job done," Kerry said.
For the fourth-straight day, the candidates exchanged harsh words about the disappearance of nearly 400 tons of explosives stored at Iraq's Al-Qaqaa military installation. The 11th-hour political stir is
"T he commander in chief is
not getting his job done."
Sen. John Kerry Democratic Presidential Cantidate
a reflection of how much the war in Iraq and terrorism have overshadowed domestic affairs throughout the close-fought contest.
Many voters, even in economically strapped battleground
Five days before Election Day, the polls were close and the crowds huge. Looking out at 10,000 faces at a Bush rally, failed GOP presidential candidate Bob Dole quipped, "I couldn't get a crowd like this in 1996."
states, are judging the candidates on their ability to lead a nation at war. Thus, character is a finalhours issue.
Across the country, anxious voters and election official braced for an uncertain outcome. Milwaukee's election commission threw out a complaint by Republicans who said nearly 6,000 addresses on the city's voter rolls might not exist.