Sharon and the Road Map
Reader comment on item: Throwing out the [Arab-Israeli] Rulebook

Submitted by J. Spiro (United States), Jun 24, 2003 at 13:25

What's more worrying than even Bush's throwing away the rulebook is the erratic behavior of Ariel Sharon.

One day he declares all out war against Hamas and targets them for assassination.
The next he negotiates with and accepts their leaders.

One day he declares how important the settlements are.
The next he dismantles them while the PA has not even begun to respect one iota of their commitments.

One day he despairs of Israel's "occupation" of the West Bank.
The next day he backtracks.

He seems to have an overwhelming desire to be patted on the head by Powell and company while developing a tolerance for the murder of citizens he is sworn to protect.

Nothing justifies an acceptance of any level of terrorism and murder as "tolerable".
And yet Sharon seems to have done just that.

What virus seems to infect Israel's leaders, that prior to their election these brilliant military and political leaders seem to have a clear vision, but once in office, they carry out policies that in any other country would have resulted in their quick ouster.

In the end, Sharon's policies will result in more bloodshed and he will be driven from political power.

Israel needs an iron willed leader who will do what is best for Israel and her people regardless of how the EU, the US, the UN, Russia et al react.

. ...

---

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened for relevance, substance, and tone, and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome, but comments are rejected if scurrilous, off-topic, vulgar, ad hominem, or otherwise viewed as inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the Guidelines for Comments. For informational purposes, we identify countries from which comments are sent.