Vicious Rants of an Angry Yellow Man

As Ariel Sharon lies comatose, struggling for life, sad thoughts come to my mind. Recemtly, an article in my local newspaper suggested that the U.S. learn from Israel's experience with terrorism. Among the lessons was that one must use force against your enemy. The following is part of my reaction to that article:

"Force was necessary when Israel had to defend herself against the Arab armies in 1967 and 1973. Force, however, is obviously not the best answer against terrorism. Israel has used force for many years in her fight against terrorism but she has never been secured. For every Israeli killed by Palestinians, Israel has killed two or three Palestinians in retaliation. After so many years of two eyes for an eye, is Israel feeling safer? Was it worth it for Israel to go into Lebanon and then refuse to withdrawl when the situation became a quagmire? Eventually Israel had to withdraw after thousands of lives on both sides were lost.

If you want to learn from Israel, look at Ariel Sharon. Sharon was probably the most hawkish of all Israeli leaders. He was responsible for the invasion of Lebanon and the entanglement of Israel there. He was the godfather of the settlements of West Bank and Gaza. His visit to Temple Mount in 2000 was calculated to draw a Palestinian response that led to the Al Aqsa intifada and thus strengthened his own power. Somehow Sharon has seen the light. He has finally realized that aggressive and brutal tactics will not bring peace to Israel. He has left the conservative Likud Party to pursue peace as the leader of a new centrist party. It won't be easy to obtain peace, but it can be done. Israel's peace with Egypt has held. I think Sharon has finally learned that being the strongest nation in the region may mean survival but it does not mean security. This is a lesson that the strongest nation in the world should learn from Israel."

Unfortunately Sharon will not be able to teach the strongest nation in the world how to achieve peace and security. Even if Sharon survives this stroke, his condition will never allow him to lead Israel again. If someone would have suggested three years ago that Ariel Sharon was Israel's best hope for peace, I would have sent this person to a psychiatrist right away. Sadly, this is the truth today. There is basically nobody in Israel who can replace him. Many politician from the Labor Party want to negotiate a peace but they are dismissed by the public as too liberal and too weak. The Likud Party has no interest in negotiating and that's why Sharon left. The Israel public trusted Sharon's strength and charisma. His remarkable transformation from an extreme hawk to a possible dove gave peace a chance. Unfortunately, this chance is disappearing into the vaccum of Israeli leadership.