Ariel Sharon's Legacy?

[Excel]

Former Israeli Prime Minister and Army General Ariel Sharon is reported to have died today after eight years in a coma.

 

Sharon served in the Army in the 1948 War of Independence, the Suez war, the Six-Day war and the Yom Kippur war and as Defense Minister during the 1982 Israeli invasion and occupation of Lebanon. Controversy arose around Sharon for his supposed role in the Sabra and Shatila massacre in which Lebanese Christian militiamen, apparently at Sharon's invitation, entered refugee camps and killed hundreds, if not thousands, of Muslim civilians.

 

Sharon was elected Prime Minister of Israel in 2001, agreed to the "Road map for Peace", endorsed a future Palestinian state and began withdrawing many Jewish settlers from Palestinian territories. Facing opposition from his own conservative Likud party Sharon went on to found the more moderate Kadima party before he suffered a stroke and was hospitalized in 2005. He had a second stroke in 2006 and slipped into a coma. The cabinet declared him incapacitated and he was hospitalized from 2006 until his death today at the age of 85.

 

He was succeeded as PM by fellow Kadima politician Ehud Olmert. Olmert, embroiled in scandal, was later followed by the current PM, Benjamin Netanyahu, a Likud politician with strong ties to the US (childhood & college). Netanyahu has been resistant to any kind of plan for Palestinian statehood and has restarted settlements.

 

So what do you think about Ariel Sharon? Monster or Peacemaker?

 

Sharon in the Army

 

Refugee Camp Massacre

Warning: Somewhat Graphic, Dead people at distance

 

 

Sharon & Abbas make peace

[MLB 51]

I'll go with peace maker. Could say both, though.

 

I like what he was trying to accomplish with the "Road Map," possibly a way to atone for action earlier in life.

[carlfense]

Shades of gray. Like most political leaders, I suppose.

[BigRedBuster]

I agree that he could be both. However, from my vantage point, he is the one leader over there that actually had common sense when trying to fix the problems.

 

But, I tend to also blame the Israelis for some of the problems over there and feel that the US needs to supper them BUT, also tell explain to them from time to time that our support is tied to them not fueling the fire with their actions.

[knapplc]

The problem over in that area seems to be that "the bad guys" don't live inside any particular border, nor do "the good guys."

 

 

Seems like "the good guys" are mostly children under the age of ten or so, regardless of border or belief, and "the bad guys" are nearly all the adults.