One minor quibble

Submitted by J. Lichty (United States), Apr 6, 2005 at 10:03

And he failed his American ally by delivering a major victory to the forces of terrorism.

Although Sharon has failed America by doing this, he is doing this because America demanded it. The Powell Administration* made no bones about its belief that Jews should only live within the Auschwitz armistice lines of 1949 with some (very minor) territorial adjustments.

In his second term, Bush has bought into Tony Blair's "centrality thesis" which Dr. Pipes and many others have shown is pure bunk -- Arab rejectionism is the root of the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Sharon wrongly believes that he must please Bush by getting out of Gaza. Bush will not be satisfied. Bush believes that all communities on the "wrong side of the so-called Green Line" are illegitimate and this will only increase the pressure. Sharon has heeled to Bush after the tounge lashing he received for defiantly (and rightly) stating that Israel will not be another Czechoslovakia. Since then, he has grovelled at Bush's alter as Bush has time and again shown that the Bush doctrine does not apply in Holy Land.

Enough is Enough; The Roadmap is my vision; The PA is reformed. This is what Sharon is up against and has been all too willing to go along (like every other Israeli PM - event the triangulating yet potentially brilliant BiBi Netanyahu).

So, while it is true that Sharon has let America down -- simply by not standing up to Bush by using Israel's Christian allies. Bush has a large role to play by being a driving force behind Sharon's change of heart.

* My name for the first Bush term as it relates to Israeli policy.

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