…and that person would be Arik Sharon. I think the guy needs some R & R.
Looks like he’s getting a bit ticked off at the constant whining around him (note to self: always be positive, no matter how bad the situation):
Sharon also lashed out at his critics from both left and right, as well as at gloomy defense establishment forecasts.
“The pessimists seize every rumor, every word, every hint,” he said. “Everything is black, everything is grave, everyone is against us. Perhaps we should stop the disengagement plan, perhaps we’ll achieve a better solution through negotiations with the Palestinians? The left wants larger and more rapid concessions. The extreme right, with a deceptive wink, simply wants to halt the exit from Gaza.”
“Rumor begets rumor,” he continued. “The Palestinians will concede; the Europeans are preparing sanctions; the Iranians, with the Syrians and Hezbollah, will bomb from the north; Hamas will control Gaza to the southwest. Submarines to the west, drones up above, tunnels underneath … I want to yell ‘Quiet!’ Calm down. Let everyone do his own job.”
He added that to give up the disengagement, and therefore his agreement with Bush, would be “irresponsible.”
Thank you great post.
Sharon is turning out to be as good a Statesman as he was a General. The Palestinian people need someone his match now.
Um, in a poll this past week among Likud members, he received more support than any other individual, including Netanyahu. His maneuvering within the Cabinet is perfectly legal and has been challenged unsuccessfully in the Israeli Supreme Court. He won a majority of votes for PM and there isn’t another election due yet. He continues to receive over 60 votes in the Knesset which means that his actions have sufficient support to survive a parliamentary vote of no-confidence that would bring down the government.
Like it or not, he’s the democratic leader of Israel.
I’m sure he does feel lonely at the top considering the lack of loyalty and outright incitement he is seeing from his own colleagues and especially from certain right wing individuals. Over decades, he has supported these people, their ideology, and the facts on the ground that were created with his support. He was their champion. Now that he perceived Israel’s future to be predicated on a different approach than is suitable for them, they question him, his loyalty and his strategic planning abilities. It must sting quite deep.
Needless to say, he is right and they are wrong.
Basically, the media who is supposed to be the watchdog of democracy has fallen asleep (or in reality is turning a blind eye) so that Sharon can continue to dismiss any criticism, especially internally, within his own party, and no one seems to mind that he has hijacked the Likud and is pushing a left-wing platform against the Likud’s wishes.
Sharon is displaying classic delusions of grandeur and defeatism. He has decided to pull a 180 degree turn and dismiss past pro-Israel, pro-settlement, pro-national pride ideology (though some warned about this twenty years ago). Now he’s scared of the Hezbollah that he’s been treating with kid gloves, scared of the Europeans and hypocritical sanctions, and supposedly scared of a pro-Israel Bush who’s more supportive of Israel than Sharon is.
This is not Sharon’s first outburst, and probably not the last either. He must feel lonely alone at the top.