Yoel Marcus

If I were a Palestinian leader, I would gawk in amazement at the political map in Israel and conclude that in comparison to the past leaders of Labor and Likud, and in view of the danger that Netanyahu could end up in the prime minister's seat again, Sharon may be the only person we'll ever be able to do business with. Why? Because he has more political power in his pocket than anyone since Ben-Gurion.

In the attempt on Abdel Aziz Rantisi's life, one may disagree with the timing and the method, but there is no question that the heads of an organization which has been killing our people indiscriminately for well over a decade are terrorists who deserve to die.

After three decades in politics, if there's anyone who should be patented, it's Ariel Sharon himself. Because nowhere in the world will you find anything like him: A man who knocks down settlements with the same enthusiasm that he once built them, trying to create an irreversible situation in the West Bank.

Acceptance of the road map, reforms in the Palestinian Authority, hope in Israel - these are the results of what seems to be a Sharonian metamorphosis. Our fate will be determined not by catcalls in the Likud convention but by the credibility of our prime minister.

I wouldn't want to be in the shoes of Arafat or Netanyahu this week. They watched the ceremonies in Sharm el-Sheikh and Aqaba, they saw the handshakes, the smiles, the backslapping with President Bush - and I bet they turned green with envy. The two of them - one who stayed home willingly, and one who stayed in the Muqata unwillingly - were like the two old grouches from the Muppet Show.

Dear cousins, the Aqaba summit tomorrow will be a festive day of handshaking and peace rhetoric. But there's no denying that the moment we set foot here, you were so against a Jewish entity in these parts, you chose to turn down the state you were offered on November 29, 1947, in the hopes that Israel would soon be crushed.

Even when Attorney General Elyakim Rubinstein pointed out that "occupation" is not in our lexicon and the proper terminology is "disputed territories," even when Uzi Landau and his pals howled, Sharon stood his ground. You may not like the word, he said, but that's what it is: occupation. A genuine Sharon in Beilin's clothing.

The approval of the road map by the Big Daddy of the settlers and the greatest arm-twister of them all, is not surprising. Not because of his election promises, but because the most important lesson Sharon has learned since coming to power is that he can't afford to quarrel with the United States.

Sharon just wants to get through his shift (until the elections in 2007). He doesn't want to quarrel with Bush or the settlers. His goal is to hold out to the end without making a decision. In the meantime, Bush's vision is laid up in intensive care.

There is no chance that the man who built most of the settlements will dismantle them, and there is no chance that Arafat will affix his signature to any clause that surrenders the Palestinian right of return. What does seem likely is that the window of opportunity will have to wait until these two are no longer running the show.

Ariel Sharon does not always tell the truth. But as a tactician, there is no one who understands better than he that now is the time to hitch a ride on the historic victory of the United States.

The speed with which the Iraqi regime collapsed was undoubtedly the biggest surprise of the war. But it's characteristic in countries where there is a reign of fear and terror by a lone ruler.

Peace, security and painful concessions were Sharon's three main promises during his two election campaigns. He talks like a leader, walks like a leader and promises like a leader; but as he begins his third year in office, a leader he's not. Not only has he failed to keep any of these pledges, but the situation is worse than ever - both in terms of defense and in terms of our international standing.

Although the war started off on the wrong foot - Turkey stopped an armored division from passing through its territory at the last minute; the first pinpointed attack on Saddam missed the target; and U.S. troops invading Basra were not welcomed with hugs and kisses - the coalition offensive was a military masterpiece.

If I were in charge of giving out medals in this country, I would award the Home Front Command a Silver Star. The war in Iraq isn't over yet, but we can already say that the conduct of the Home Front has been exemplary.

If, before the war, some people thought President Bush would handle us with kid gloves out of concern for his own election needs, Israel is now Bush's IOU to those who helped him.

No one knows if Saddam really has all those look-alikes they say he has, but it's a shame Bush doesn't have one. Maybe he could do a better job of running the war, with a lot fewer mistakes than the original Bush. Because what we are looking at now is certainly a bushel of them.

No one knows if Saddam really has all those look-alikes they say he has, but it's a shame Bush doesn't have one. Maybe he could do a better job of running the war, with a lot fewer mistakes than the original Bush. Because what we are looking at now is certainly a bushel of them.

The moment you set a date, not meeting it will be considered a failure. In a war of choice, the time that is set is as long as it takes to achieve the war's goals. In its momentum, this offensive is not like the 1967 Six-Day War, and in its goals, it does not resemble the 1991 Gulf War.

"I have a dream: When it's all over, let's take all the broadcasters and news program hosts, with their idiotic questions and their interviews, and shut them up in a sealed room for a week."

"I have a dream: When it's all over, let's take all the broadcasters and news program hosts, with their idiotic questions and their interviews, and shut them up in a sealed room for a week."

When war ends and we leave our sealed rooms, there's a good chance we'll discover a new world out there. The international arena won't be what it was. We can expect a major reshuffling of the Western world. New alliances will be formed. America may withdraw its forces from Europe.

President Bush's situation reminds me of the final scene of the classical Western "High Noon." The sheriff, played by the legendary Gary Cooper, abandoned by the townspeople, strides alone through the deserted streets toward the inevitable showdown with the bad guys.

In a properly run country - America, for instance - the president needs congressional permission to go to war. Around here, the prime minister and the defense minister wrap that sort of thing up on their own.

If we learned in 1991 that restraint is power, the lesson we have to learn now is not to stick our noses in and not to get dragged into this war in any shape or form. Israel's name has already appeared more than enough in anti-American demonstrations around the world to justify keeping a low profile.