Scott Burchill introduces some perspective to the legacy of Ariel Sharon:
“Current orthodoxy paints Sharon as a “warrior statesman” who courageously returned the Gaza Strip to the Palestinians and was preparing to make further “painful and generous concessions” on the West Bank before being cut down by a stroke. Dubbed “a man of peace” by President George W. Bush, it is said Sharon moved from the hard Right to the political centre, creating a new political party that, after winning elections scheduled for March, would oversee a peace settlement that delivered a Palestinian state.
“None of this is even remotely true.”
The current fawning over Sharon is about as accurate as the demonising of Arafat as the inspiration for Bin Laden.