33 years ago, Time Magazine ran a cover story on a Palestinian leader it called a "New Force in the Middle East." 33 years later, Mohammed Abdul Rahman Abdul Raouf Arafat Al Qudwa Al Husseini remains a force in the Middle East...though most people refer to him now, simply, as Yasir Arafat.
Few international figures have maintained such tenure - and such mystery - on the world's stage. Somewhere past the black and white checks of his fastidiously styled kefiyyah is a man who devoted years to plotting guerilla attacks from the back alleys of Cairo, Kuwait, Beirut and Tunis; then shared a Nobel Peace Prize with Israel's leaders.
Today: a look at the man and the mystery that is Yasir Arafat.
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Serge Schmemann, UN Bureau Chief at The New York Times
Marc Gopin, Professor of International Diplomacy at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.
