Albright: Arafat's death opportunity for peace
 |  Madeleine Albright |
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|  VIDEO |
 After the opening prayer, funeral services begin for Yasser Arafat.
 Arafat's coffin was taken first by hearse, then by horse-drawn carriage.
 How the world viewed Yasser Arafat.
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Thousands of Palestinians converged Friday on Yasser Arafat's Ramallah compound to mourn their late leader, who was buried after a ceremony in Cairo, Egypt.
Former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright discussed what's next for the Palestinian Authority and the Middle East peace process with CNN's Soledad O'Brien.
O'BRIEN: I'm going to start, sort of, bluntly. Do you think the Middle East is better off without Yasser Arafat?
ALBRIGHT: I think that it is, because he was not in a position to make some serious decisions about how the Middle East peace process should go forward.
And I met with Arafat many, many times, and I think the sad part is that he was not able to accept the best deal that the Palestinians will ever see.
And nobody should ever be glad that somebody has passed from the scene, and Yasser Arafat was clearly a very large figure. But he was viewed as an obstacle to peace, both by the Israelis and the United States.
And I hope that now, as a result of an election process that's supposed to take place among the Palestinians, that there will be an opportunity for moving forward on a peace process.
O'BRIEN: Many people have predicted that his death does bring this, sort of, possible diplomatic opening available for sitting down again and going back to the talks. What do you think President Bush has to do right now to best leverage this moment of opportunity, if you will?
ALBRIGHT: Well, I think we have to be very supportive of an electoral process among the Palestinians. They actually have a pretty good possibility of being among the most democratic parts of the Middle East. They have had elections. They are getting ready for municipal elections.
And so the U.S. needs to do that, plus, establish, I think, some back channels to the new Palestinian leadership, and also keep talking to the Israelis about using this opportunity to move forward.
And I think there is a very good chance because this is something that people have been waiting for. But always the unexpected happens. We have to be prepared for that.
But the U.S. needs to be involved, initially quietly, and then I think in a more active way to bring the parties together. Because we're the only ones that are in that kind of a position.
O'BRIEN: When you talk about elections, obviously, you're talking about legitimacy, an actual election, but also, sort of, a legitimacy among the people and legitimacy among other people to negotiate with.
Who is the person that you would point to who you'd say, "That's the person who would be the best to negotiate on behalf of the Palestinians"?
ALBRIGHT: Well, the Palestinians have to make that choice.
But I can tell you that Mr. (Mahmoud) Abbas, who -- Abu Mazen as we used to call him -- and Abu Ala -- Mr. (Ahmed) Qorei -- are people that have actually in the past negotiated with the Israelis. We were present at that time, for instance, at Wye when arrangements were made with the Israelis. And those two men are very realistic and are capable of negotiating.
But it is up to the Palestinians to choose their leaders. There are going to be other people that come forward. But for the time being, I see those two men as being at the top in terms of their capability and their realism.
O'BRIEN: Do those two men have the ability to deal with the militant elements within the PLO? Do they have the ability to deal with Hamas?
ALBRIGHT: Well, that's the big question, and they are going to have to work very hard in terms of building coalitions and trying to respond to what is going to, I think, be a fervor among the Palestinian people.
We just saw in Ramallah where they are trying to have an organized arrival of Yasser Arafat's body and already there are surges of crowds coming in and in many ways undermining the plan.
I think that might be symbolic of what could happen among the Palestinians, that there are plans for an orderly transfer of power and for elections, and yet those out in the street are going to want to play a part.
And so this is a very delicate time among the Palestinians, and I think without, kind of, embracing too much the process -- because we, in fact, could stifle it -- we need to make sure that there is a progress toward Palestinian elections, an orderly succession and some ability to harness the various forces that are out there. Not an easy job.
