1. Carol_Herman said:

Arik Sharon is just keeping Israel's powder dry. In a short time, Abbas has to make a move. Since he backs Assad. Unless he totally pulls back from that position. And, then, who knows? The Lebanese may be strong enough to stand in the streets, just as the Ukrainians did. It's about time Syria got thrown out of Lebanon. And, then? Well, Saddam's been taken care of in Iraq. AND, TODAY, the United States MARINES are moving into RAMADI. To do there what they did in Fallujah. Good battle plans take time. Great strategy on the part of Arik Sharon! Since more than one problem is being taken care of. And, Sharon knows the press is NOT friendly! You don't solve your problems thinking journalists want to wash your dirty laundry. Gaza? Welll, it's a strategic mess for Israel to get battered about by world opinion, for settlers that don't even respect the IDF soldier! Sometimes, in business, you need to make these decisions. What's best OVERALL. And, Sharon is a very wise man, indeed. He's doing NOTHING to hurt Bush's plans and strategy, either. Abbas? His colors have to be shown. And, he'd welcome Israel's negatives. So, it's time to understand that the best prime minister EVER now leads Israel!

2. Tiburon said:

Sure Carol. You got it. You've got more insight in your little finger than a room full of rabbis! How foolish of all of us, not "to understand that the best prime minister EVER now leads Israel!"
You and Benjamin ought to get together, you'll have lots to talk about.

3. Tiburon said:

Oh, I forgot...just curious, y'see: - Did YOU read Arik's "Disengagement Plan"?

or, y'know..."you've been listening to the radio and TV, and reading the papers"...

'Fess up, m'lady. I'm all ears.

4. Carol Herman said:

What's the big deal? The enemies surrounding Israel are falling like flies. President Bush has been very clear on bringing freedom to people who have never had it before. And, all Israel has to do NOW is get out of the line of fire! Isn't it obvious that Abbas and company are hoping to get Arik Sharon to make a mistake? And, so far, he hasn't.

The bigger puzzle is why in Israel do the orthodox rabbis carry weight, when in the USA there are other branches to Judaism? What was Ben-Gurion's original deal? After he decapitated the Palmach?

Again, in the USA the old left is becoming a punching bag. It's no longer the dynamic position that attracted so many people to its core. The media are just a host to the elites. And, I don't think Arik Sharon ever got a fair shake in the pages of the NY Times, or on TV. Sharon, himself, had to learn to dance with these nitwits. And, as far as I'm concerned he's an effective "dancer." Side-stepping with the best steps of Fred Astaire.

No crystal ball, here. But if there was a scorecard, so far Arik's decisions lead. And, those who are calling for Israel to "fight" ... all I ask is "fight what?" It bothers you that America is now trying to force the hands of dictators around the world? It bothers you that Iraq now has a chance at freedom? That even Egypt is playing ball? And, the only weak link in Israel's chain happens to be coming from right wingers? You don't think this is noticeable?

5. Tiburon said:

What's the "big deal", Carol? Lemme tell ya. "(T)he only weak link in Israel's chain happens to be coming from right wingers" is a haunted and cursed reminder to me of the, be it "old" or "new", Leftist(and so-called 'centrist') rhetoric that accompanied the arrival of the Oslo Death Train. Over one thousand Jews have ridden that Train, since. To me, that is indeed "a Big Deal".

As to Arik being maligned in the pages of the NYT(!), I suggest you go back and READ the dozens of opinion pieces he's (ghost)written in the pages of that and similar forums. Did you happen to come across those, Carol? Y'know, the "not one inch without Justice", "Jewish inalienable rights to the Land" type articles? Those screeds that presented the political stance on which platform HE WAS ELECTED???

And to which he is today, ostensibly, a traitor. Are you familiar with the concept of "Hero Worship", Carol?

6. Carol Herman said:

Hero worship? Ehud Barak is your Algore. And, Netanyahu? Well, he's had lots of wives, but he hasn't got himself a ketchup heiress. Such ambitious men, though. What is GOOD ahead is that the media lines you can get are gonna be meaningless. They won't win you any elections. So, you, too, over there have a cast of characters that race for the cameras. In America, we have Senator Schumer. And, it all doesn't amount to a hill of beans. I credit Arik Sharon for understanding what it is to exercise power. Just like our wonderful President Bush said in 1998. He'd take on the world. Men with power can really do that! All the rest of it is just a silly show to watch. And, watching is what we're all doing.