THE ROAD TAKEN:

Follow the Leader (ZEV CHAFETS, 2/15/05, NY Times)

[M]r. Sharon seems to have undergone some sort of conversion. He's become a proponent of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza. He's willing, even eager, to withdraw Israelis from settlements he himself helped build in Gaza. He's authorized the release of Palestinian prisoners. Last week, he went to Sharm el Sheik, Egypt, and, with the whole world watching, warmly took the hand of Mahmoud Abbas. It wasn't the first time Mr. Sharon had been photographed shaking hands with a Palestinian leader, but it was the first time he ever looked happy about it.

Just after that meeting, Palestinian terrorists fired mortars at Israeli settlements in Gaza. In the past, Mr. Sharon would have replied with a barrage of missiles and harsh words about Palestinian perfidy. This time, he turned a pudgy cheek.

Some believe that Mr. Sharon - the symbol of intransigent hawkishness - has seen the light of nonviolence. (Mr. Abbas, in an interview this weekend, said that Mr. Sharon is speaking "a different language.") But this misunderstands the man and the moment. Ariel Sharon hasn't found a new language or a new religion; he has simply embraced a new leader: George W. Bush. [...]

During the intifada, Mr. Bush had impressed Mr. Sharon by letting him fight. The president's critics called this "American disengagement." In fact, it was a shrewd confidence builder. Throughout his career, Mr. Sharon never trusted foreigners; he manipulated them. But Mr. Bush was different - the two men thought alike. Mr. Bush disdained Yasir Arafat. He put Israeli security ahead of Israeli concessions. And he was willing to use force. After Saddam Hussein was overthrown, Mr. Sharon embraced George W. Bush as his godfather in a shared cause, the war on Islamic extremism.

Like all of Mr. Sharon's leaders, Mr. Bush has a plan - pacifying Palestine by creating an independent, democratic Arab state next to Israel.

Remarkable, the degree to which events have followed the President's widely derided blueprint.

Posted by Orrin Judd at February 16, 2005 7:02 AM