Sharon’s ‘place in history’

Historians know that it is impossible accurately to assess a departed leader’s legacy until after many years have passed, let alone before technically he is even gone. Yet, the case of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon may be the exception that proves the rule.

This is true for several reasons:

• First, few statesmen have worked harder or more self-consciously than Sharon at defining their "place in history." In recent years, particularly as he and his family became embroiled in a corruption scandal, the Prime Minister strove to ensure that he would not be remembered by history for his controversial role in the 1982 massacres in Lebanon ‘s Sabra and Shatilla Palestinian refugee camps.

Instead, Ariel Sharon curried favor with his critics by recasting himself as a peacemaker. Although he justified his policy of unilateral "disengagement" from the Gaza Strip as a security measure, its true character was evident in the fact that he was suddenly lionized by those on the Left who had reviled him for decades. Overnight, he joined the peculiar pantheon reserved by the world for Israeli leaders who surrender territory to Israel ‘s enemies, in the hope that the Jewish State would thereby, somehow be left alone in peace.

• Second, Sharon ‘s Gaza withdrawal legacy was a distinctly personal accomplishment . It seems unlikely that any other Israeli politician could have pulled it off. But Sharon did, thanks to his reputation as a brilliant military general, his credentials as a life-long "hawk" on security matters and his famed tenacity which enabled him to "bulldoze" first his opponents, and then the Israeli communities in Gaza.
• Third, even after just four months, the repercussions of the Sharon surrender of Gaza are becoming frighteningly clear . As the Center for Security Policy’s brilliant Mideast Fellow, Caroline Glick, put it in her column in the Jerusalem Post last week:

Today, as the Palestinian Authority has ceased to operate in any coherent manner; as the Egyptian border with Gaza has been open for terror traffic for three months; and as Hamas has emerged as the most prevalent force in Palestinian politics and society, it is impossible to deny that Sharon’s decision to withdraw Israeli forces from Gaza and northern Samaria has vastly empowered Palestinian terrorists. Today, the Gaza Strip has become one of the most active and dangerous bases for jihadi terrorism in the world.

Matters Were Going to Get Worse

What is more, had Ariel Sharon not been struck down by ill-health at this juncture, his ultimate legacy would likely have been even more damning. He was determined to effect a similar, unilateral withdrawal from parts of the West Bank .

There, too, Israeli forces’ departure would have been marked by claims of victory over the Jews by those determined to destroy them. There, too, the assertion that terror works would be used to justify more of it. There, too, the upshot would likely have been anarchy, at best; at worst, an incipient state-sponsor of terror under a Taliban-style Islamofascist Hamas.

The danger posed by such an enclave on one or both sides of Israel will not be confined to the Jewish State. As we saw in Afghanistan prior to 9/11, safe havens for al Qaeda and its Islamist friends are a threat to the entire Free World, including its leader, the United States .

A Silver Lining

For this reason, much as the passing – politically, if not physically – of Ariel Sharon might be seen as a tragedy for his loved ones and for many Israelis, it may prove to be providential for his country, and ours. After all, it affords an opportunity for sober reflection about the wisdom of Sharon ‘s policies and their repercussions . No longer will Israel be driven headlong by a man who clearly felt he was nearly out of time and was determined to implement his vision, with little regard for the consequences.

Now, Israel and other freedom-loving nations have an opportunity to reckon with the effects of the Gaza withdrawal, before compounding them with further "disengagements" in the West Bank . The Israelis must find ways to deal with the Kassam rockets being fired with increasing frequency by Palestinian terrorists, making a mockery of the idea that separation alone will secure the Jewish State.

The same goes for the border with Egypt now being traversed with impunity by smugglers of ever-more-dangerous arms – including, it appears, surface-to-air missiles capable of downing airliners flying into and out of Israeli airports. Allowing such weapons and those who would wield them free rein in much of the West Bank could cripple Israel ‘s critically important tourist industry, its economy and over time the country as a whole.

The interlude caused by Sharon ‘s departure should allow Israel and the rest of the Free World to focus on another, far more pressing problem: the mortal threat that will be posed by an Islamofascist Iran armed with nuclear weapons. Unfortunately, the old general’s absence may make decision-making and action-taking more difficult. But, as the saying goes, "the prospect of hanging concentrates the mind wondrously." An Iranian regime bent on "wiping Israel off the map" and "a world without America " represents an existential threat such that the leadership and the will must be found to deny Tehran the means to act on these ambitions.

The Bottom Line

Should we fail to do so, historians may well regard Ariel Sharon’s legacy of weakening his country in the face of its enemies as the precursor to a devastating new phase in the War for the Free World.