When President George W Bush called Ariel Sharon to congratulate him on winning the Israeli election, he said: “No one would have believed then that I would be president and you would be prime minister.”
There are two new administrations in the power capitals of Washington and Jerusalem now, both more conservative than their predecessors, neither one particularly sworn to peace in the Middle East. George Bush’s Defense Secretary is on the record now as having said that there are more urgent priorities in the region than a final settlement in the West bank.
Ariel Sharon is an Israeli warrior and political veteran identified by many people as the guy who visited the Temple Mount in Jerusalem last September and sparked four months of violence. Having said all that though, politicians cursed with low expectations sometimes have a way of defying them too.
Guests:
Gideon Rose, Managing Editor of “Foreign Affairs”
Charles Krauthammer, syndicated columnist
Bernie Avishai, author of “A New Israel.”