Without Sharon, Bush's Mideast Path Uncertain

[hang a left]

January 6, 2006

Without Sharon, Bush's Mideast Path Uncertain
By Tyler Marshall and Laura King, Times Staff Writers


A photograph supplied by the Israeli Government Press Office shows acting Isralei prime Minister Ehud Olmert as he chairs a cabinet meeting in the Prime Ministry in Jerusalem on Thursday morning next to the empty chair of Ariel Sharon.

(Avi Ohayon / EPA)
Jan. 5, 2006

WASHINGTON — Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's stroke has left a gaping hole in the Bush administration's approach to resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and stabilizing the broader Middle East.

For much of President Bush's tenure, U.S. policy in the dispute has been shaped more by Sharon's ideas than any other factor.

Sharon remained in grave condition Thursday at a hospital in Jerusalem, where he was placed in a medically induced coma after nearly eight hours of neurosurgery.

Vice Prime Minister Ehud Olmert formally assumed temporary leadership of the Israeli government, and several of Sharon's closest allies acknowledged that even if he survived the massive cerebral hemorrhage he suffered late Wednesday, it was highly unlikely he would ever be healthy enough to return to his post.

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http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-usmideast6jan06,1,1844580.story?coll=la-headlines-world

[Behind the Aegis]

1. What a crock of shit!

The fucking title is crap: "Without Sharon, Bush's Mideast Path Uncertain." :eyes: This shit just gets so old!

[Poll_Blind]

3. Cranky Likudnik, descending fast, looks like both engines OUT! n/t

PB

[Behind the Aegis]

4. Ummm...you are aware...

...that Sharon is not with Likud?

[Poll_Blind]

5. Oops, my bad. I was talking about the Likudnik having the meltdown, not..

...the ex-Likudnik on his death bed.

PB

[Behind the Aegis]

6. Should have known...

...a dying Israeli would bring out the terrorist apologists.

[Poll_Blind]

2. I'd like to think that the Israeli people will pick a leader much more....

...moderate than Sharon but, as the Palestinian people have shown, you can put a moderate in place but it's going to be an eternal struggle to keep them in power. I think it's likely that Sharon will be replaced by someone even more hardline than himself, a tough act to follow.

PB

[teryang]

7. * regime always characterized by a hole at the top, uncertainty

Nothing new about that.