April 4, 2002

4:45 PM

Where Is The Other Half ?An intriguing analysis of what Prime Minister Sharon said and didnt, in his latest speech, and wether thats all he can say because of his background.
What does "winning" mean? What will happen after we "win"? What kind of plan does he have for the day after? This performance of Arik, King of Israel, was like shouting: Remember the emperor without clothes? That's me!
posted by adnanbwp (4 comments total)

While I tend to agree with the Left wing (but wonderful) Israeli paper, just change the name Sharon to Bush and it is the same situation! What is winning, how long does it go on? When do we know we have won? etc etc etc
Try replacing the names and the enemy and you will see what I mean. The difference is that one of the two lads was ain service but I forget which one it was.
posted by Postroad at 5:15 PM on April 4, 2002

Yeah, except our crackdown is actually working (so far, at least). Israel's crackdown only seems to be making things worse.
posted by electro at 6:28 PM on April 4, 2002

Some people do see a deeper plan at work, although not everyone agrees, and that really deals mainly with the American goals for the region.

Sharon, unfortunately, is at risk here for the charge that he doesn't have a good endgame or exit strategy. And at any rate the old tank commander who crossed the Sinai and Suez in one incredible swoop may not be one to think in terms of handling fourth generation warfare. There are ways in which this resembles the American war on terrorism writ small -- but also ways in which it differs in major respects. The Israelis are not allied with friendly forces inside the West Bank (at least as far as we have seen so far; it is known they have intelligence sources and collaborators). They don't have a strategy for unseating Arafat, any clear goals, it seems, beyond thoroughly discrediting him on the world stage as a credible negotiating partner. Many people inside Israel and out believe this is long overdue, but the lack of a process for moving forward leaves a vacuum.

Sharon could, for example, have more heartily endorsed the Saudi peace proposal (no matter the poison pills it contained), with the primary goal of replacing the responsibility of Arafat for maintaining the security of Israel, by putting that onus on the Arab states collectively.
posted by dhartung at 6:29 PM on April 4, 2002

(Dan, whither your weblog? It's fallen off the map here.)
posted by aaron at 8:53 PM on April 4, 2002