WASHINGTON, Nov 11 (AFP) - US President George W. Bush never welcomed Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to the White House, avoided speaking to him by telephone, and sought to marginalize him from Middle East peace efforts.
Bush repeatedly made it clear that he did not consider that the man seen as the symbol of the Palestinian cause over the past four decades was instrumental to creating an independent state for them.
He is the first US president to formally endorse creating an independent Palestinian state, but refused to deal with Arafat while hosting Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon at the White House more than any other world leader.
Arafat's death would provide "an opening for peace" with new Palestinian leaders in place.
"When that happens, and I believe that it's going to happen ... the United States of America will be more than willing to help build the institutions for a free society to emerge so that the Palestinians can have their own state," Bush said at the White House.
"The vision is two states, a Palestinian state and Israel living side by side in peace. I think we've got a chance to do that. I look forward to being involved in that process."
The US leader, who took office in January 2001 after Middle East peace talks collapsed, initially showed little inclination to pick up where his predecessor Bill Clinton left off, including the former president's courtship of Arafat.
But the September 11, 2001, terrorist strikes revived dialogue with Arab nations and led Bush to push ahead with the internationally brokered "roadmap" to peace, as well as more diplomatic contacts with Arafat's Palestinian Authority.
The blueprint calls for a series of confidence-building measures leading to the creation of a Palestinian state, initially set for 2005, but which Bush pushed back in May amid anti-Israel extremist attacks.
White House aides say Bush was never comfortable with Arafat, but link a definitive break in relations to the January 2002 interception of an arms shipment bound for the Palestinian Authority.
Arafat denied any connection to the shipment, but US intelligence uncovered evidence to the contrary, leading the US president to lament "I took him for his word" and decided that he was not trustworthy.
After months of deploring anti-Israeli attacks, Bush in September 2003 urged Palestinians to cast him off, declaring that "Mister Arafat has failed as a leader", and telling them to find someone serious about fighting terrorism.
Washington also condemned Arafat for leading Palestinian prime minister Mahmud Abbas to resign by undermining his efforts to consolidate Palestinian security forces and crack down on anti-Israeli violence.
In November 2003, Bush stepped up efforts to marginalize Arafat, urging Europe to join the United States and Israel in shunning him.
At the same time, Bush said Israel must also act if it wanted peace, repeating longstanding US calls for an end to settlement activity and the construction of a controversial West Bank security barrier.
Despite the lack of dialogue between Bush and Arafat, White House aides insist that there have been high-level contacts between the United States and Palestinian officials.
They cite frequent visits by senior US diplomats as well as telephone calls between US national security adviser Condoleezza Rice and counterparts in the Middle East.
But Bush's endorsement of Sharon's plan to withdraw Israeli settlements from Gaza, which Israeli lawmakers recently approved, was not paired with any overtures to Arafat.
And White House aides, told that Arafat had congratulated Bush through a spokesman on winning a second four-year term, merely shrugged.
"Our position remains the same. We need Palestinian leaders committed to fighting terror," one told AFP on condition of anonymity.

11/11/2004 05:53 GMT - AFP