Sharon suffers a major stroke

[vizi]

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/666364.html

I wonder what effect this will have on the political structure of the middle east. Who knows what shape Sharon will be in.

[GambleFish]

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/666364.html

I wonder what effect this will have on the political structure of the middle east. Who knows what shape Sharon will be in.

Last I heard he was paralyzed from the waist down or so and was undergoing surgery for massive bleeding in the brain... don't know if the article said that. His deputy has assumed power for now.

[Hub'ite]

They're saying that he might not even last the night.

But a radical Palestinian leader in Damascus, the Syrian capital, called Sharon's health crisis a gift from God.

"We say it frankly that God is great and is able to exact revenge on this butcher. ... We thank God for this gift he presented to us on this new year," Ahmed Jibril, leader of the Syrian-backed faction Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command, a small radical group, told the Associated Press.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060105/...NlYwMlJVRPUCUl

[vizi]

Saying stuff like that will only get another Sharon elected.

[danzig]

They're saying that he might not even last the night.

But a radical Palestinian leader in Damascus, the Syrian capital, called Sharon's health crisis a gift from God.

"We say it frankly that God is great and is able to exact revenge on this butcher. ... We thank God for this gift he presented to us on this new year," Ahmed Jibril, leader of the Syrian-backed faction Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command, a small radical group, told the Associated Press.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060105/...NlYwMlJVRPUCUl

Lets see a 70+ year old man who is overweight...yeah it was god's doing uh huh.

Saying stuff like that will only get another Sharon elected.

Nothing wrong with Sharon compared to who imo will end up replacing him now Benjamin Netanyahu so they shouldnt be too happy about this.

[Atheist Peace]

This is a shame, I liked what he was doing with his new moderate party. Hopefully the party continues and wins the election without him.

[RZZZA]

What is peoples beef with Ariel Sharon? He does what he has to ensure the survival of his people. We cant begin to imagine the stress that a person like that has on their shoulders. One could possibly equate this with the burden that Abraham Lincoln had on his back when the south ceceded from the Union. Or when the hope of 13 colonies rested on George Washington...or perhaps even like when the nation was under the threat of the British in the war of 1812 and president Madison had to flee and figure out a way to stop the british from destroying the country. It is the same type of "all or nothing" scenario, a loss would mean total anhialation of everything they hold dear. Sometimes I think of the Israeli military as modern day spartans because of this attitude, every male citizen in Israel is required to serve for a time in the army. They are besieged by all times by their enemies which make frequent incursions into their territory, harass them in all ways possible with actions and rhetoric and have brought serious warfare against them numerous times. Seriously those kinda circumstances must breed a more capable soldier than the norm. But I digress...wtf was I talking about? Oh yeah Sharon...

Well I dunno why people villianise him. He's certainly preferable to the alternative leaders in the vicinity imo...Who would you rather have anyway? Someone less moderate? More radical? More of a strong arm thug type like Hussien or Stalin?

[vizi]

Well my comment was that if Syria keeps making comments about Sharon like that, it means another Sharon will be elected which is obviously something they don't want. Don't they understand politics at all?

[Admiral Nelson]

What is peoples beef with Ariel Sharon? He does what he has to ensure the survival of his people. We cant begin to imagine the stress that a person like that has on their shoulders. One could possibly equate this with the burden that Abraham Lincoln had on his back when the south ceceded from the Union. Or when the hope of 13 colonies rested on George Washington...or perhaps even like when the nation was under the threat of the British in the war of 1812 and president Madison had to flee and figure out a way to stop the british from destroying the country. It is the same type of "all or nothing" scenario, a loss would mean total anhialation of everything they hold dear. Sometimes I think of the Israeli military as modern day spartans because of this attitude, every male citizen in Israel is required to serve for a time in the army. They are besieged by all times by their enemies which make frequent incursions into their territory, harass them in all ways possible with actions and rhetoric and have brought serious warfare against them numerous times. Seriously those kinda circumstances must breed a more capable soldier than the norm. But I digress...wtf was I talking about? Oh yeah Sharon...

Well I dunno why people villianise him. He's certainly preferable to the alternative leaders in the vicinity imo...Who would you rather have anyway? Someone less moderate? More radical? More of a strong arm thug type like Hussien or Stalin?

That deseves another topic

Remember, the British were in war with France until it was stabbed in the back with the Americans invading Canada. But all was well in the end with some nifty white- house burning!

[Hodor]

What is peoples beef with Ariel Sharon? He does what he has to ensure the survival of his people. We cant begin to imagine the stress that a person like that has on their shoulders. One could possibly equate this with the burden that Abraham Lincoln had on his back when the south ceceded from the Union. Or when the hope of 13 colonies rested on George Washington...or perhaps even like when the nation was under the threat of the British in the war of 1812 and president Madison had to flee and figure out a way to stop the british from destroying the country. It is the same type of "all or nothing" scenario, a loss would mean total anhialation of everything they hold dear. Sometimes I think of the Israeli military as modern day spartans because of this attitude, every male citizen in Israel is required to serve for a time in the army. They are besieged by all times by their enemies which make frequent incursions into their territory, harass them in all ways possible with actions and rhetoric and have brought serious warfare against them numerous times. Seriously those kinda circumstances must breed a more capable soldier than the norm. But I digress...wtf was I talking about? Oh yeah Sharon...

Well I dunno why people villianise him. He's certainly preferable to the alternative leaders in the vicinity imo...Who would you rather have anyway? Someone less moderate? More radical? More of a strong arm thug type like Hussien or Stalin?

The Palestinians and Lebanese, in particular (as well as a lot of Israelis) consider Sharon to be a war criminal. In the war against Lebanon, Israeli-backed Lebanese militias slaughtered people in Palestinian refugee camps, an act which was apparently openly tolerated by then-minister of defence Sharon.

[MadBurgerMaker]

This is a shame, I liked what he was doing with his new moderate party. Hopefully the party continues and wins the election without him.

Agreed. Not to be harsh, but the timing on this is absolutely terrible. Ariel Sharon has been a voice of reason in that region, so.....hopefully his successor will continue along those same lines.

a radical Palestinian leader in Damascus, the Syrian capital, called Sharon's health crisis a gift from God.

They, yet again, cant pass up on another opportunity to make themselves look like retards.

[imb39]

The ironic thing is that there are many Jews who feel exactly the same and are undoubtedly praying for Sharon's demise. It is such a fractured country. That is what 50 years of warfare does, I suppose - this is an observation and not intended to judge anyone.

[Sidus Preclarum]

unfortunately, there certainly goes the chance for a pro-peace centrist party in Israel ( and a defeat of Netanyahu)

[Major.Stupidity]

Did anyone catch Pat Robertson's comments on the 700 club? He linked Sharon's stroke to God's rath for dividing up the Holy land! Its almost as bad as the radical Palestinian leader in Damascus!

Link

[danzig]

Did anyone catch Pat Robertson's comments on the 700 club? He linked Sharon's stroke to God's rath for dividing up the Holy land! Its almost as bad as the radical Palestinian leader in Damascus!

Link

Except when Robertson talks only people listening are 80 yr old women on tv...everytime Robertson opens his mouth lately something stupid comes out of it maybe he is going senile or something but really he needs to shut the hell up. The Iranian president also gave his opinion on the subject too today and he wishes Sharon to die. Its nice though that Robertson has such a low opinion of the god he believes in, I mean here we have this supposed supreme being who created the heavens and the earth and all the people on it but evidently this god is so petty that he would single out and kill one person over a piece of land that is his regardless who lives on it because well he is god and he created it! What a low opinion Pat has of his god, if god truly cared who lived there he'd just toss a mountain down on those he didnt want to be there no? Instead evidently god saw this fat old man and pointed a finger and said stroke!

[vsaiyan]

Thank god for Pat Robertson

My heart goes out to all of Israel, even though I never cared much for Sharon.

[Kanaric]

hes an old fat guy, what do you expect?

[Mímirswell]

This couldn't come at a worst time for those wishing for greater stability in the Middle East. Sharon was a political collosus in Israel and someone who could actually institute change without the fragile Israel government from collapsing. Having reached the apex of his power, he formed Kadima, a moderate Israeli party along with policies that for the first time in a decade, showed actual promise at resolving some of the ongoing issues with the Palestinians. It was widely believed he would follow up the Gaza withdrawal with further concessions in the West Bank, a strategy aimed at establishing final borders for Israel for the first time in its *history.

Sharon was holding Kadima together and without him, it looks bleak. If Kadima falls apart and Netanyahu comes to power, expect all the policies of peace that Sharon had implemented to be reversed and instability to reign for at least a decade longer.

[Oldgamer]

This couldn't come at a worst time for those wishing for greater stability in the Middle East. Sharon was a political collosus in Israel and someone who could actually institute change without the fragile Israel government from collapsing. Having reached the apex of his power, he formed Kadima, a moderate Israeli party along with policies that for the first time in a decade, showed actual promise at resolving some of the ongoing issues with the Palestinians. It was widely believed he would follow up the Gaza withdrawal with further concessions in the West Bank, a strategy aimed at establishing final borders for Israel for the first time in its *history.

Sharon was holding Kadima together and without him, it looks bleak. If Kadima falls apart and Netanyahu comes to power, expect all the policies of peace that Sharon had implemented to be reversed and instability to reign for at least a decade longer.

I basically agree with your arguments, here. And note that when Sharon dies, violence from the Palestinians is almost a given. This is exactly what Hamas would want: the election of Netanyahu. That would allow them to secure their growing influence over the Palestinians.

However, expect Netanyahu to start moving to the center, very soon. It is the only way he will get a governing majority. When he is Prime Minister ... and I am convinced that he will become so ... he will govern from a more centrist position, and probably attempt to continue some of Sharon's policies, which would reassure the center-left, the Palestinians, and Washington.

The worst scenario is an outbreak of Hamas-sponsored Palestinian violence upon the death of Sharon. The Israeli people like what Sharon has done, by and large, but they like security more. Violence leads to Likud's election victory, a Netanyahu Prime Ministership, and a hardline approach.

The ball is really in Hamas' court. Do they want peace or not? Time will tell ...

[Kanaric]

This is how it works in the area, someone dies and everything gets reset. Hopefully though he recovers.

Did anyone catch Pat Robertson's comments on the 700 club? He linked Sharon's stroke to God's rath for dividing up the Holy land! Its almost as bad as the radical Palestinian leader in Damascus!

Crazy fundamentalists are crazy fundamentalists, be they Chistian, Islamic, or some crazy wackjob cult. Seriously, it seems Robertson gets more and more insane as the years go by. I bet most of his ratings are people who watch it for comedy purposes.