U.S. leaders, responding to the resignation of Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, on Sunday blamed Palestinian President Yasser Arafat for hindering progress toward Middle East peace and said he must relinquish control of security forces. But they opposed any expulsion of Arafat, which has been urged by some Israeli officials, saying this could give the veteran Palestinian leader a wider stage to work from. White House national security adviser Condoleezza Rice said Arafat had "hamstrung" Abbas in his efforts to control the security forces and urged the Palestinian Authority to "get an empowered prime minister and let him work." Washington has said that despite the setback of Abbas's resignation it remains committed to the "road map" peace plan introduced this summer and which was being pushed strongly by President Bush. "It's not surprising Yasser Arafat has been an obstacle to peace before, he's an obstacle to peace now," she said.
| Good. We're not going to just sit back and let things return to the way they were a year ago... |
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