--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In the Bill Clinton years, the foreign…" description: "\"In the Bill Clinton years, the foreign leader who visited the White House most often was Yasser Arafat - 13 times.\" — Elliott Abrams" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bcf/elliott-abrams-1577_arafat_in-the-bill-clinton-years-the-foreign-le_2749026.jpg" --- # In the Bill Clinton years, the foreign leader who visited… ![“In the Bill Clinton years, the foreign leader who visited the White House most often was Yasser Arafat - 13 times.” quote by Elliott Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bcf/elliott-abrams-1577_arafat_in-the-bill-clinton-years-the-foreign-le_2749026.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bcf/elliott-abrams-1577_arafat_in-the-bill-clinton-years-the-foreign-le_2749026.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bcf/elliott-abrams-1577_arafat_in-the-bill-clinton-years-the-foreign-le_2749026.jpg) > “In the Bill Clinton years, the foreign leader who visited the White House most often was Yasser Arafat - 13 times.” [Elliott Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-abrams/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote highlights the frequency of diplomatic engagement between the US and the Palestinian leadership under Clinton **In simple terms:** Arafat was the most frequent foreign visitor in that era Key Takeaway Note the importance of sustained diplomatic dialogue Themes Diplomacy US foreign policy Middle East peace Mood neutral informative Type historical political When to use this quote - State visits - peace negotiations - policy briefings - media coverage Key Concepts Political engagement International relations Leadership interaction Questions to Reflect On - What does repeated visitation suggest about diplomatic priorities? - How might such visits affect public perception? A Different Perspective Frequency alone doesn't indicate success of negotiations ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Leader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leader/) [Leadership](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leadership/) [White house](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white-house/) ## Related quotes > [Terrorism exploded after the Camp David talks broke down in 2000 because the Palestinians' leader at the time, Yasser Arafat, supported it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-abrams/terrorism-exploded-after-the-camp-david-talks-broke-down-in-2000/) [Elliott Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-abrams/) > [Politics is a dynamic process. When I was a young man in the 1970s, Yasser Arafat had just perpetrated various terrorist attacks. Just a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-schulz/politics-is-a-dynamic-process-when-i-was-a-young-man-in-the-1970s/) [Martin Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-schulz/) > [Not to forget, you are speaking with General Yasser Arafat. It's true that I am an engineer. But also I am a general. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasser-arafat/not-to-forget-you-are-speaking-with-general-yasser-arafat-it-s-true/) [Yasser Arafat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasser-arafat/) > [Yasser Arafat remains in stable condition after dying in a Paris hospital.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-taranto/yasser-arafat-remains-in-stable-condition-after-dying-in-a-paris/) [James Taranto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-taranto/) > [Yasser Arafat never wanted to make peace with Israel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ehud-olmert/yasser-arafat-never-wanted-to-make-peace-with-israel/) [Ehud Olmert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ehud-olmert/) > [Be certain that Yasser Arafat’s final days are numbered, but allow us to finish him off our way, not yours. And be sure as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-dahlan/be-certain-that-yasser-arafat-s-final-days-are-numbered-but-allow-us/) [Mohammed Dahlan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-dahlan/) > [“Inevitably came the time when he angrily repudiated his former paladin Yasser Arafat. In fact, he described him to me as 'the Palestinian blend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/inevitably-came-the-time-when-he-angrily-repudiated-his-former/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [At Camp David in 2000, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak offered the Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat 94 percent of the West Bank; ten years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-abrams/at-camp-david-in-2000-israeli-prime-minister-ehud-barak-offered-the/) [Elliott Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-abrams/) > [Gary Johnson's refusal or inability to name a single foreign leader, current or former, whom he admired, showed that he is not ready for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-todd-whitman/gary-johnson-s-refusal-or-inability-to-name-a-single-foreign-leader/) [Christine Todd Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-todd-whitman/) > [What's sort of remarkable is that, especially in the Israel and the Russia cases, you have got a U.S. citizen, Donald Trump, siding with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/what-s-sort-of-remarkable-is-that-especially-in-the-israel-and-the/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [By the time I joined the Obama administration in 2014, it was widely expected that the president of the United States would raise human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-malinowski/by-the-time-i-joined-the-obama-administration-in-2014-it-was-widely/) [Tom Malinowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-malinowski/) > [Theresa May's triumph at being the first foreign leader to visit Donald Trump, when she addressed the Republican caucus and advised that it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crispin-blunt/theresa-may-s-triumph-at-being-the-first-foreign-leader-to-visit/) [Crispin Blunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crispin-blunt/) > [With each newly minted crisis, US leaders roll out the same time-tested scenario. They start demonizing a foreign leader ... charging them with being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-parenti/with-each-newly-minted-crisis-us-leaders-roll-out-the-same-time/) [Michael Parenti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-parenti/) > [A visit to the White House is a coup for any foreign leader, it's a useful weapon of soft power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katty-kay/a-visit-to-the-white-house-is-a-coup-for-any-foreign-leader-it-s-a/) [Katty Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katty-kay/) > [In Lebanon, there was an agreement not to liquidate Yasser Arafat. In principle, I'm sorry that we didn't liquidate him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-sharon/in-lebanon-there-was-an-agreement-not-to-liquidate-yasser-arafat-in/) [Ariel Sharon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-sharon/) ## More by Elliott Abrams > [President Obama has never summarized the Obama Doctrine with such clarity, but here is what it would look like: 'I will undertake any military…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-abrams/president-obama-has-never-summarized-the-obama-doctrine-with-such/) [Elliott Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-abrams/) > [The story of the Jews in the Bible is replete with incidents of their ingratitude to God for His gifts to them: incidents that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-abrams/the-story-of-the-jews-in-the-bible-is-replete-with-incidents-of-their/) [Elliott Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-abrams/) > [History may someday record that the Arab awakening that began with the Arab revolt of 1916 against the Ottomans ended about a century later…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-abrams/history-may-someday-record-that-the-arab-awakening-that-began-with/) [Elliott Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-abrams/) > [From its earliest days in the nineteenth century, and until the Holocaust, the Orthodox rabbinate in eastern Europe was not enthusiastic about the Zionist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-abrams/from-its-earliest-days-in-the-nineteenth-century-and-until-the/) [Elliott Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-abrams/) > [The Pope is not a political figure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-abrams/the-pope-is-not-a-political-figure/) [Elliott Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-abrams/) > [Israel and the Palestinians had been at the table together for decades until the Obama/Mitchell/Rahm Emanuel decision to demand a total end to Israeli…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-abrams/israel-and-the-palestinians-had-been-at-the-table-together-for/) [Elliott Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-abrams/) > [Pundits are used to analyzing the gap between what our ideals suggest and what our security interests require.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-abrams/pundits-are-used-to-analyzing-the-gap-between-what-our-ideals-suggest/) [Elliott Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-abrams/) > [The Egyptian military and the government of Israel have long had a common interest in maintaining order and fighting terrorism in Sinai.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-abrams/the-egyptian-military-and-the-government-of-israel-have-long-had-a/) [Elliott Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-abrams/) > [In 2007, early in the improbable presidential candidacy of Barack Obama, the young first-term senator began a series of foreign-policy speeches that seemed too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-abrams/in-2007-early-in-the-improbable-presidential-candidacy-of-barack/) [Elliott Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-abrams/) > [Terrorists that kill Americans don't get released.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-abrams/terrorists-that-kill-americans-don-t-get-released/) [Elliott Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-abrams/) > [Refusing to lift sanctions and adopting tougher rhetoric toward Iran would not be partisan issues. Plenty of Democrats think that those actions are both…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-abrams/refusing-to-lift-sanctions-and-adopting-tougher-rhetoric-toward-iran/) [Elliott Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-abrams/) > [At the height of the Cold War, when Ronald Reagan was president, the Soviets and their allies and satellites did not shirk human rights…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-abrams/at-the-height-of-the-cold-war-when-ronald-reagan-was-president-the/) [Elliott Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-abrams/) > [I personally would not talk to a Jew for Jesus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-abrams/i-personally-would-not-talk-to-a-jew-for-jesus/) [Elliott Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-abrams/) > [When freedom of the press is threatened, the United States should be leading efforts to protect it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-abrams/when-freedom-of-the-press-is-threatened-the-united-states-should-be/) [Elliott Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-abrams/) > [Israel bombed the Syrian nuclear reactor in 2007. What the Syrians did in response, nothing. Israel has killed a number of terrorist leaders in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-abrams/israel-bombed-the-syrian-nuclear-reactor-in-2007-what-the-syrians-did/) [Elliott Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-abrams/) [Explore all 226 Elliott Abrams quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-abrams/) ## More Arafat quotes > [Arafat is hosting, training, supporting, sponsoring terrorist organizations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-sharon/arafat-is-hosting-training-supporting-sponsoring-terrorist/) [Ariel Sharon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-sharon/) > [Ask Bill Clinton about Yasir Arafat. Clinton and Barak did everything they could in 2000 at Camp David. Arafat walked away from it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/ask-bill-clinton-about-yasir-arafat-clinton-and-barak-did-everything/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Khomeini was not a puppet like Arafat or Qaddafi or the many other dictators I met in the Islamic world. He was a sort…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oriana-fallaci/khomeini-was-not-a-puppet-like-arafat-or-qaddafi-or-the-many-other/) [Oriana Fallaci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oriana-fallaci/) > [The principal sponsors of the terrorists are not religious fanatics. "Palestine's Yasser Arafat, Iraq's Saddam Hussein, and Syria's Assad family have made themselves the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-f-buckley-jr/the-principal-sponsors-of-the-terrorists-are-not-religious-fanatics/) [William F. Buckley, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-f-buckley-jr/) > [I am the Israeli leader who met most with Arafat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ehud-barak/i-am-the-israeli-leader-who-met-most-with-arafat/) [Ehud Barak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ehud-barak/) > [In many ways, I regard Sharon and Arafat as birds of a feather.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/in-many-ways-i-regard-sharon-and-arafat-as-birds-of-a-feather/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [Arafat was a barrier to peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/arafat-was-a-barrier-to-peace/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Yasser Arafat and Mahmoud Abbas have recognized Israel's right to exist. The Israeli government has never recognized our right to a sovereign state and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-mashal/yasser-arafat-and-mahmoud-abbas-have-recognized-israel-s-right-to/) [Khaled Mashal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-mashal/) > [ \[Israel will\] create in the course of the next 10 or 20 years conditions which would attract natural and voluntary migration of the refugees… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yitzhak-rabin/israel-will-create-in-the-course-of-the-next-10-or-20-years/) [Yitzhak Rabin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yitzhak-rabin/) > [Hamas, the opponents of Arafat, the opponents of peace, urged a boycott of the election, and yet there was an 85 percent turnout where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-christopher/hamas-the-opponents-of-arafat-the-opponents-of-peace-urged-a-boycott/) [Warren Christopher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-christopher/) > [In my view, Arafat is the only Palestinian in the world that isn't willing to have an independent Palestinian state.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/silvan-shalom/in-my-view-arafat-is-the-only-palestinian-in-the-world-that-isn-t/) [Silvan Shalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/silvan-shalom/) > [I also do not believe that the United States can let itself be driven into a political role by escalating terrorism, and therefore, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-a-kissinger/i-also-do-not-believe-that-the-united-states-can-let-itself-be-driven/) [Henry A. Kissinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-a-kissinger/) > [Unfortunately, little attention was paid to how Arafat ruled. In fact, some saw the harsh and repressive nature of Arafat's regime as actually bolstering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natan-sharansky/unfortunately-little-attention-was-paid-to-how-arafat-ruled-in-fact/) [Natan Sharansky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natan-sharansky/) > [Whoever stands by a just cause cannot possibly be called a terrorist. -Yassar Arafat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/call-of-duty/whoever-stands-by-a-just-cause-cannot-possibly-be-called-a-terrorist/) Call Of Duty > [Arafat contradicts himself every five minutes. He always plays the double-cross, lies even if you ask him what time it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oriana-fallaci/arafat-contradicts-himself-every-five-minutes-he-always-plays-the/) [Oriana Fallaci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oriana-fallaci/) Browse all 57 Arafat quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In the Bill Clinton years, the foreign leader who visited the White House most often was Yasser Arafat - 13 times.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Elliott Abrams" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-abrams/in-the-bill-clinton-years-the-foreign-leader-who-visited-the-white/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Arafat" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-abrams/in-the-bill-clinton-years-the-foreign-leader-who-visited-the-white/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bcf/elliott-abrams-1577_arafat_in-the-bill-clinton-years-the-foreign-le_2749026.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bcf/elliott-abrams-1577_arafat_in-the-bill-clinton-years-the-foreign-le_2749026.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bcf/elliott-abrams-1577_arafat_in-the-bill-clinton-years-the-foreign-le_2749026.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In the Bill Clinton years, the foreign leader who visited the White House most often was Yasser Arafat - 13…” — Elliott Abrams", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Elliott Abrams", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-abrams/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "In the Bill Clinton years, the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-abrams/in-the-bill-clinton-years-the-foreign-leader-who-visited-the-white/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-abrams/in-the-bill-clinton-years-the-foreign-leader-who-visited-the-white/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```