For days, the US President demanded that Israel withdraw its troops from West Bank cities. Mr Sharon simply ignored him. "When I say withdraw, I mean it," Mr Bush snapped at one point. Mr Sharon ignored him. ... Only a day earlier, Mr Annan was forced, in utter humiliation, to disband his fact-finding mission to Jenin after Israel refused to accept it. ... The squalid, corrupt little dictator of Ramallah, Mr Arafat, and the brutal, merciless leader of the Middle East's mightiest army, Mr Sharon, have nothing to offer each other. Mr Arafat cannot fulfill his required role of colonial governor - to "control his own people" - while Mr Sharon cannot fulfill his promise to provide Israelis with security. ZNet | Mideast | Sharon the merciless and Arafat the corrupt have nothing meaningful to offer each other |
