Good comment from Ha'aretz, and a good reminder for those who think that Arik Sharon harbored any illusions about what Gaza was going to become after Israel pulled out:
An overpowering reality
By Aluf Benn (Jerusalem) and Shmuel Rosner (Washington)
July 2005. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is visiting Prime Minister Ariel Sharon at his Sycamore Ranch on the eve of the disengagement from the Gaza Strip. It's a reciprocal visit, coming a few weeks after Sharon's trip to U.S. President George W. Bush's ranch in Texas. Sharon shows Rice the sheep and the fruit trees, and then the American and Israeli delegations meet for breakfast.
Sharon begins by identifying with the suffering of the Palestinians, and speaks of the great opportunity that will befall them in Gaza after the Israeli withdrawal. Rice's ears perk up; it's not every day that you hear Sharon displaying such empathy. "There are only two problems," says Sharon, turning his gaze to his left. "Dubi, how do you say 'bloodthirsty' in English?" Sharon's adviser Dov Weissglas chokes on his avocado salad as an embarrassed silence fills the room. U.S. Deputy National Security Adviser Elliott Abrams translates the term. Now it's Rice's turn to choke on her salad. "There are only two problems," repeats Sharon. "They're bloodthirsty and treacherous."
"All of them?" asks Rice.
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"Yes," the prime minister responds. "All of them."
Sharon's former advisers were reminded of that incident this week, as Hamas appeared to have beaten Fatah in the battle for control of Gaza, with dozens of Palestinians reported dead in the internecine fighting. Sharon, the advisers said, anticipated exactly what took place. In a speech before the United Nations General Assembly after the disengagement, Sharon said that now the Palestinians could develop their economy and build a peaceful society - if they so desired. Their challenge, he said, would be to eliminate the anarchy of the armed gangs.
In November 2005, in his last meeting with Rice, Sharon made an even more prophetic prediction. Hamas' participation in the Palestinian elections could lead to the end of the road map, he said, adding that Israel fully backs Bush's democratization efforts but that it wouldn't back the murderers of Jews, even if they participate in the elections.
If Rice forgot Sharon's warnings, she received an updated version last week from former defense minister Shaul Mofaz, who was participating in a strategic dialogue in Washington. Mofaz warned that the Hamas-Fatah clashes would continue, saying that Hamas' goal is to take control of the Palestinian Authority, by force if necessary. In comments to reporters, Mofaz used a word coined by Major General (res.) Amos Gilad: Hamastan. Only Mofaz jazzed it up a bit; he spoke of the "Hamastinian authority."
American policy in the Middle East, which has been characterized primarily by failure and entanglement, sustained another cruel blow this week when Hamas essentially seized control of Gaza.
"The American strategy has totally collapsed," Israeli officials said. "They carried out an exercise in democracy, and that led to the election of Hamas. Then they wanted to arm the Fatah operatives in Gaza so they would fight Hamas, instead of blocking the weapons and the money being smuggled into the Strip."
The advisers noted that Fatah's leaders, the darlings of the Americans, weren't even present when Hamas was killing their followers. Early this week, while Fatah fighters were being thrown off multi-story buildings and Hamas was capturing one outpost after another, reports that Israeli officials described as "Dayton's spin" continued to pour into Washington. In a trip to Washington three weeks ago, U.S. security coordinator Lieutenant General Keith Dayton provided his superiors with an encouraging description of the strengthened forces of Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and of the Fatah forces' determined fighting against Hamas in the previous round of violence. Similar reports came out at the beginning of this blood-filled week, but Israel expected to see a rapid end to such statements. "The reality in the field will overpower them too," an Israeli official said - and then the Americans will be forced to realize who has won.
haaretz.com |
