Hi Jack:
I’m writing this morning under duress. Sometime last night, I came down with a 24-hour Ebola. So far, it is cleverly mimicking the symptoms of a stomach virus–I am not yet bleeding through my pores, nor are my internal organs liquefying at a fast rate of speed–but I expect these developments to occur at any time, so I’ll write quick.
I opened my Times this morning and read, “A senior aide to Mr. Sharon, Raanan Gissin, said today that the incoming prime minister plans a Vietnam-style ‘pacification’ strategy in the Palestinian territories, forcibly ‘separating the terrorists from the civilian population.’ “
If it worked once, why wouldn’t it work again?
Jack, you’re scouring the newspapers right now: Have you come across anything more ridiculous than that?
On the other hand, some of the Jerusalem-based beat reporters for the major dailies are doing fairly superficial, even biased jobs explaining the meaning of Sharon’s victory. In one maddening story, Mary Curtius of the Los Angeles Times writes, “even as Sharon welcomed what an aide called a ‘warm’ message of congratulations from Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat, the hawkish former general also paid a visit to Jerusalem’s Western Wall, where he promised that the city will remain the capital of the Jewish people ‘for all eternity.’ “
In other words, the newly elected prime minister of the Jewish state had the temerity to visit Judaism’s holiest site and then promise that the Jewish capital will remain Jewish.
Tom Friedman has the most interesting piece today on the Middle East. “(T)he press is asking exactly the wrong question about the Sharon election,” Friedman wrote. “They’re asking, who is Ariel Sharon? The real question is, who is Yasir Arafat?”
Yasser Arafat, I’ve stated in another venue, served, in effect, as Sharon’s campaign manager. Arafat’s unwillingness to make compromises with the man Friedman calls Israel’s de Gaulle–Ehud Barak–is directly responsible for the ascension of Sharon.
I would love to chat on with you, but I must proceed immediately to Ft. Detrick’s Level Four biocontainment facility. If I don’t make it out, tell Pam I’ve promised you my Neil Diamond CDs.
Your friend,
Jeff
