Ariel Sharon

Zev Chafets wrote in JWR Ariel Sharon is not a Christian. He doesn't believe that the meek will inherit the earth. He doesn't love his enemies. Put him on the road to Damascus and he is more apt to channel George Patton than Saul of Tarsus. Lately, though, Mr. Sharon seems to have undergone some sort of conversion. He's become a proponent of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza. He's authorized the release of Palestinian prisoners. He went to Sharm el Sheik, Egypt, and, with the whole world watching, warmly took the hand of Mahmoud Abbas. It wasn't the first time Mr. Sharon had been photographed shaking hands with a Palestinian leader, but it was the first time he ever looked happy about it. Some believe that Mr. Sharon — the symbol of intransigent hawkishness — has seen the light of nonviolence. But this misunderstands the man and the moment. Ariel Sharon hasn't found a new language or a new religion; he has simply embraced a new leader: George W. Bush.... A succession of prime ministers feared and mistrusted Ariel Sharon. They kept him at a distance and occupied him with busywork. For years he drifted. After the Oslo accords, with peace apparently at hand, he seemed to be a relic. The intifada saved him. Ehud Barak's government panicked in the face of suicide bombers. This time it was the public that summoned Mr. Sharon, electing him prime minister in 2001 with a clear mandate: Restore order. It took a while — he was rusty — but Mr. Sharon did the job. The question then became: What next?

Enter George W. Bush. During the intifada, Mr. Bush had impressed Mr. Sharon by letting him fight. The president's critics called this "American disengagement." In fact, it was a shrewd confidence builder. Throughout his career, Mr. Sharon never trusted foreigners; he manipulated them. But Mr. Bush was different — the two men thought alike. Mr. Bush disdained Yasir Arafat. He put Israeli security ahead of Israeli concessions. And he was willing to use force. After Saddam Hussein was overthrown, Mr. Sharon embraced George W. Bush as his godfather in a shared cause, the war on Islamic extremism. Like all of Mr. Sharon's leaders, Mr. Bush has a plan — pacifying Palestine by creating an independent, democratic Arab state next to Israel. Once, under Begin or Meir, Ariel Sharon would have killed to prevent such a vision. Today, in the face of threats from Israeli extremists, he is ready to die trying to make it real.

This approach may work, or it may not work, but the only alternative is a major war in which Israel wipes out major numbers of the "Palestineans". This is why creating an independent Palestinian state is important. Hopefully it will want to live in peace with its neighbor, and if so I believe that Israel will be a very good neighbor to have. Or it may decide to immediately declare war on Israel, in which case Israel will be ready, and rather than just reoccupying the area, it will disinfect it first.