MER - MiddleEast.org - Washington - 5 January 2006:
Ariel Sharon was the mastermind General-Politician who more than
any other Israeli leader since David Ben-Gurion influenced the course
of the Middle East and brought the world to today's 'Clash of
Civilizations', ongoing warfare, and impending collision with Iran and
Syria. He more than any other brought Revionist Zionism --
'the Iron Wall' philosophy of Vladamir Jabotinsky in juxatoposition to
the more compromising and internationalist orientation of Theodore
Herzl -- to power in Israel. He made a nearly unbelievable
political rebirth after an official Israeli Investigating Commission
found him 'indirectly responsible' for the Lebanese massacres in 1982
and publicly urged, and warned, that he should never again be allowed
to serve in the Israeli government. He has passed from the
political scene, and he may soon passn from life, but his legacy will
quite likely endure far into the future: No real Palestinian
State west of the River Jordan is any longer possible thanks to Ariel
Sharon and the militant, feared, and in many places hated Israel he
leaves behind is determined, one way or another, to remain the dominant
geopolitical player in the region in alliance with the United States,
world Jewry, Evangelical Christians, and the peculiar sect known as the
Jewish Neocons.
Mark Bruzonsky
This FlashBack to Sharon as he wanted to project himself through an interview with William Safire of the NYTimes. Notice
that he already assumed Iraq would be taken over by the Americans and
was already focusing on taking on Iran and Syria which is what he was
planning for this year at the time he was brought down by the massive
stroke he suffered yesterda.
October 21, 2002
A Chat With Sharon
"Israel and America are consulting now as never before in the past" - Ariel Sharon
By WILLIAM SAFIRE
WASHINGTON - After his visit with President Bush and Congressional
leaders, Israel's Ariel Sharon returned to his farm, surveyed his
cattle and sheep, and as the Sabbath sun set, took my call.
If war starts, did you promise Bush that Israel would not be provoked
by Saddam into responding to his missile attack, thereby troubling
whatever Arabs may want to cooperate in his overthrow?
"Israel is not interested in being involved in a campaign against
Iraq," the prime minister replies, having been assured that U.S. forces
would first seek to neutralize Iraq's capability to attack Israel.
"We'll support America's decision and will show sensitivity to U.S.
needs by exercising maximum restraint. At the same time, if our
citizens are attacked seriously — by a weapon of mass destruction,
chemical, biological or by some mega-terror act — and suffer
casualties, then Israel will respond."
Has he promised to consult Bush before doing anything drastic?
"Consult? We have a regular dialogue. Israel and America are consulting now as never before in the past."
Sharon notes an unremarked danger: "The Syrians, together with the
Iranians, are playing a double game, escalating tension on our northern
border. Assad's son is completely under the influence of Hezbollah,
helping them more than his father ever thought about, integrating the
terrorists into Syria's front-line forces. And the Iranians have
supplied those terrorists with 9,000 to 10,000 rockets, maybe including
a new one with a 200-mile range. If war comes, we see what
Syria-Iran-Hezbollah are preparing: they'll be surrogates for Saddam,
opening a second front to help him."
In that regard, Sharon persuaded Russia's Vladimir Putin not to sell
Syria shoulder-fired antiaircraft missiles. Putin wants our old
Jackson-Vanik amendment dropped, and Sharon says "we support that it
should be bent already."
Syrian-occupied Lebanon has begun diverting precious water from one of
the sources of the Jordan River: "That blatant violation of law does
damage to a strategic resource, and is a matter of life and death to
us.
"The Six-Day War in 1967 really started in 1964 when Arabs started to
divert the sources of the Jordan. We accepted the U.S. proposal to
negotiate, but if the diplomatic process does not produce results,
Israel will be forced to act."
Turning to Intifada II, I asked if he had reacted to Bush's draft of a
"Roadmap to a Permanent Two-State Solution" handed him in Washington.
"It's six pages in small letters and I haven't read it yet," he says,
shifting the emphasis with "We accept the plan outlined in Bush's
speech." Then he struck a note of optimism:
"About the Palestinian reforms, one feels that there are changes going
on there. There are those who realize Israel won't be able to move
forward until the end of the terror attacks and a different leadership
emerges. We have seen positive signs that Palestinian society is moving
toward reforms, especially economic reforms, though slowly — first,
Arafat must remove his hands from the cash flow."
Progress was made in Washington on the release of tax money to the
Palestinian Authority, which Israel feared would be used for arms. "We
agreed to a mechanism to monitor those revenues," Sharon reports,
"which is the most important thing right away. The Palestinians chose a
man with good intentions. For accountability and transparency, we want
a team led by U.S. experts, along with Europeans and Russians and
especially Japanese, so that the money we release gradually, under
inspections, will not be used to purchase illegal weapons.
"We will continue our secret contacts with high-ranking Palestinian
officials, and we have told them that the appointment of a prime
minister is a first, necessary step in Palestinian reform." (That
would, I presume, leave Arafat as figurehead president. As for those
"secret contacts," they're hardly secret anymore.)
"The U.S. knows who are the leaders who support reform," Sharon stresses, "and they should be strengthened."
He's an unabashed admirer of this President Bush. "Thank God, at this
historic moment, the U.S. is leading the free world toward liberation
from fear of terror."
And his unwavering confidence under sustained pressure makes me an
unabashed Arik Sharon admirer. "We go back many years," he says. "Call
me more often." I may just do that.