I have a very hard time with this post
You know, I tend to be a fairly liberal guy. George W. Bush is a moron, George Herbert Walker Bush has incredibly stupid sperm, Karl Rowe is a jackass, and on and on and on.
So it's very hard for me to say anything bad about a government that, for all its faults, has as much right to exist as any other: the government of Israel. My liberal bent, and my idealism, both cause me to generally be an unflagging supporter of Israel's continued drive for existence in what has got to be the worst possible place to put the damned country - it's a country with about two allies in the whole of the Middle East, and it seems that just about every other person in the region wants to see Israel turned into a glass lake or gigantic poison control center.
But Ariel Sharon has got to be about the worst thing to have ever happened to Israel. I realize that he's a war hero, but the ability to lead troops and defend your country from invasion is slightly different from the ability, and willingness, to peacefully act as chief executive of a country that is under constant attack from both outside and inside its borders.
Prime Minister Sharon, some of you will recall, is among the people from the Likud Party who walked on the Temple Mount, home of both Solomon's Temple and the Dome of the Rock Mosque...Mr. Sharon's actions, in my opinion, were designed to incite anger among Palestinians and Muslims worldwide, who hold that the Temple Mount is Muslim holy ground (which it is, but that makes no excuse for the idiotic belief that just because it's holy to one religion, others should not be allowed on the site under penalty of death...the Prophet Muhammed once said, "You to your religion, and me to mine.") Ariel Sharon did not get to be a general in the Israeli army without being calculating.
The Palestinians' response was predictable and unfortunate - Yassir Arafat released a statement saying that Mr. Sharon's and the others' actions were an affront to Islam, and the current intifada was born.
Now that the history lesson is out of the way, Mr. Sharon is under fire, and has been for some time, for accepting bribes from an Israeli land developer by the name of David Appel. Mr. Appel was indicted today for bribing Mr. Sharon with hundreds of thousands of dollars - and I say it can't be soon enough.
The Israeli government's current iteration has not acted in a way that is in the best interests of its people since Mr. Sharon became Prime Minister. The government restricts the movement of Palestinians to an area that basically amounts to a few square miles of shanty-towns and refugee camps; the government orders military officials to fire on suspected and known terrorists, even while those folks are in a public place (you'd be surprised just how many children and innocent adults are killed in these strikes); the Israeli government even rations water for Palestinians but not for Israelis outside of the West Bank, for no reason at all (the average Palestinian has a water quota of 10% of what the average Israeli citizen uses).
These tactics, among others, do nothign to endear the government to the hearts of many people. The hawks in Israel, sure, they love Ariel Sharon, but not many other people do. Current soldiers in the Air Force are refusing to attack terrorists in Palestine, citing the high probability of civilian casualties. Former intelligence officers are saying that Sharon's and his government's policies are actually doing more harm than good. And, let's face it, Palestinians living in Israel's borders are not thrilled with the actions, either - rather than scaring the terrorists clean, Hamas is now one of the most revered organizations in Palestinian territory, and suicide bombers are cheered as they parade down the streets.
With all of this in mind, it's a very good thing that Prime Minister Sharon may be forced to step down and abandon power. Israel's security is at stake because Mr. Sharon acted in a way that he thought would improve it - iron fists do not allies make, and Israel does not need any more enemies than it already has. Perhaps someone with a solid head on his or her shoulders can take control of a government whose policies create hatred among a people that is oppressed, and maybe someday Israeli Jews and Palestinians can either find a peaceful one-state, or two-state, solution to a problem that Mr. Sharon has made only worse, rather than better.
You know, I tend to be a fairly liberal guy. George W. Bush is a moron, George Herbert Walker Bush has incredibly stupid sperm, Karl Rowe is a jackass, and on and on and on.
So it's very hard for me to say anything bad about a government that, for all its faults, has as much right to exist as any other: the government of Israel. My liberal bent, and my idealism, both cause me to generally be an unflagging supporter of Israel's continued drive for existence in what has got to be the worst possible place to put the damned country - it's a country with about two allies in the whole of the Middle East, and it seems that just about every other person in the region wants to see Israel turned into a glass lake or gigantic poison control center.
But Ariel Sharon has got to be about the worst thing to have ever happened to Israel. I realize that he's a war hero, but the ability to lead troops and defend your country from invasion is slightly different from the ability, and willingness, to peacefully act as chief executive of a country that is under constant attack from both outside and inside its borders.
Prime Minister Sharon, some of you will recall, is among the people from the Likud Party who walked on the Temple Mount, home of both Solomon's Temple and the Dome of the Rock Mosque...Mr. Sharon's actions, in my opinion, were designed to incite anger among Palestinians and Muslims worldwide, who hold that the Temple Mount is Muslim holy ground (which it is, but that makes no excuse for the idiotic belief that just because it's holy to one religion, others should not be allowed on the site under penalty of death...the Prophet Muhammed once said, "You to your religion, and me to mine.") Ariel Sharon did not get to be a general in the Israeli army without being calculating.
The Palestinians' response was predictable and unfortunate - Yassir Arafat released a statement saying that Mr. Sharon's and the others' actions were an affront to Islam, and the current intifada was born.
Now that the history lesson is out of the way, Mr. Sharon is under fire, and has been for some time, for accepting bribes from an Israeli land developer by the name of David Appel. Mr. Appel was indicted today for bribing Mr. Sharon with hundreds of thousands of dollars - and I say it can't be soon enough.
The Israeli government's current iteration has not acted in a way that is in the best interests of its people since Mr. Sharon became Prime Minister. The government restricts the movement of Palestinians to an area that basically amounts to a few square miles of shanty-towns and refugee camps; the government orders military officials to fire on suspected and known terrorists, even while those folks are in a public place (you'd be surprised just how many children and innocent adults are killed in these strikes); the Israeli government even rations water for Palestinians but not for Israelis outside of the West Bank, for no reason at all (the average Palestinian has a water quota of 10% of what the average Israeli citizen uses).
These tactics, among others, do nothign to endear the government to the hearts of many people. The hawks in Israel, sure, they love Ariel Sharon, but not many other people do. Current soldiers in the Air Force are refusing to attack terrorists in Palestine, citing the high probability of civilian casualties. Former intelligence officers are saying that Sharon's and his government's policies are actually doing more harm than good. And, let's face it, Palestinians living in Israel's borders are not thrilled with the actions, either - rather than scaring the terrorists clean, Hamas is now one of the most revered organizations in Palestinian territory, and suicide bombers are cheered as they parade down the streets.
With all of this in mind, it's a very good thing that Prime Minister Sharon may be forced to step down and abandon power. Israel's security is at stake because Mr. Sharon acted in a way that he thought would improve it - iron fists do not allies make, and Israel does not need any more enemies than it already has. Perhaps someone with a solid head on his or her shoulders can take control of a government whose policies create hatred among a people that is oppressed, and maybe someday Israeli Jews and Palestinians can either find a peaceful one-state, or two-state, solution to a problem that Mr. Sharon has made only worse, rather than better.
posted by Brian at 11:54 AM
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