Taking a Stand, and Shedding Arafat’s Shadow ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Ethan Bronner, Neil MacFarquhar - September 21, 2011 - 12:00am At the baronial Morgan Library in Midtown Manhattan the other night, President Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian leader, stood quietly along the edge of a diplomatic reception, avoiding the animated gossip and flowing Champagne. Only when the host noted that Mr. Abbas was in the room, and expressed hope that his quest for Palestinian membership in the United Nations would produce real sovereignty, did the crowd take notice. » Read more

Obama Rebuffed as Palestinians Pursue U.N. Seat ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Helene Cooper, Steven Lee Myers - September 21, 2011 - 12:00am A last-ditch American effort to head off a Palestinian bid for membership in the United Nations faltered. President Obama tried to qualify his own call, just a year ago, for a Palestinian state. And President Nicolas Sarkozy of France stepped forcefully into the void, with a proposal that pointedly repudiated Mr. Obama’s approach. The extraordinary tableau Wednesday at the United Nations underscored a stark new reality: the United States is facing the prospect of having to share, or even cede, its decades-long role as the architect of Middle East peacemaking. » Read more