As the country awaits Prime Minister Sharon\'s address this evening, it may be edifying to be reminded of another speech given by Ariel Sharon. It was delivered at a large rally just prior to his election one year ago:
\"I trust the IDF and the security forces that knew in the past, and know today, [how to respond] - they just require a firm government to give clear instructions for the right solutions. Not a \'firm reaction,\' or \'vengeance\' - but a real blow to terrorism and its liquidation. The liquidation of terrorism [is what is required]! Not just to react, but to initiate, again and again; to place the enemy in changing situations, to upset his self-confidence, to make him worry about himself instead of attacking us… There must not be negotiations under fire. The idiotic Oslo Agreement - no longer exists! (applause) We must beat terrorism, and we can do so, and the sooner the better. This nation deserves security, and it is possible to give security to this nation… We will restore security to this nation! I promise you: I will restore security!\"
Arutz-7\'s Haggai Segal spoke this morning with Aviv Bushinsky, former Netanyahu press aide. \"There has been much criticism of Sharon\'s silence in the past weeks,\" Segal said, \"but maybe he had some media-savvy in doing so, as now there is great anticipation as the public waits to hear what he has to say tonight?\" Bushinsky responded:
\"I don\'t think so, because if you\'ll notice the strong criticism he faced for not talking to the country after the Dolphinarium attack, for instance, and also after this latest wave of attacks - people think that either he has nothing to say, or that he is in a bad state... Now, as everyone waits to hear what he has to say, it could very well be that he\'ll cause a great letdown and won\'t have great things to say... He will have to calm the public, and will have to give them hope. I was trying to think of a good sentence that he could say, but it was hard for me to find something other than the usual cliches, such as, \"We will defeat terrorism,\" or, \"This will be a long war,\" or, \"We have found the formula to defeat terrorism [as he said a few months ago].\" ... I would actually hope that he would act like Franklin Roosevelt who, the day after Pearl Harbor, stopped talking and instead went right to war.\"
Segal then asked, \"There was a report that leaked from the Prime Minister\'s Office that Sharon won\'t let Netanyahu force him to go more to the right than he feels is correct. Is it true that Netanyahu is breathing down Sharon\'s neck, and is it appropriate?\" Bushinsky\'s response:
\"Netanyahu gave an interview recently in which he said that he\'s not breathing down Sharon\'s neck; he\'s just breathing… To the point, however, let\'s look not at Netanyahu but at Chief of Staff Mofaz, who straight out called Arafat a terrorist. So if his own Chief of Staff calls Arafat a terrorist, what else does Sharon need? Does he need Netanyahu to tell him what to do?\"
\"I trust the IDF and the security forces that knew in the past, and know today, [how to respond] - they just require a firm government to give clear instructions for the right solutions. Not a \'firm reaction,\' or \'vengeance\' - but a real blow to terrorism and its liquidation. The liquidation of terrorism [is what is required]! Not just to react, but to initiate, again and again; to place the enemy in changing situations, to upset his self-confidence, to make him worry about himself instead of attacking us… There must not be negotiations under fire. The idiotic Oslo Agreement - no longer exists! (applause) We must beat terrorism, and we can do so, and the sooner the better. This nation deserves security, and it is possible to give security to this nation… We will restore security to this nation! I promise you: I will restore security!\"
Arutz-7\'s Haggai Segal spoke this morning with Aviv Bushinsky, former Netanyahu press aide. \"There has been much criticism of Sharon\'s silence in the past weeks,\" Segal said, \"but maybe he had some media-savvy in doing so, as now there is great anticipation as the public waits to hear what he has to say tonight?\" Bushinsky responded:
\"I don\'t think so, because if you\'ll notice the strong criticism he faced for not talking to the country after the Dolphinarium attack, for instance, and also after this latest wave of attacks - people think that either he has nothing to say, or that he is in a bad state... Now, as everyone waits to hear what he has to say, it could very well be that he\'ll cause a great letdown and won\'t have great things to say... He will have to calm the public, and will have to give them hope. I was trying to think of a good sentence that he could say, but it was hard for me to find something other than the usual cliches, such as, \"We will defeat terrorism,\" or, \"This will be a long war,\" or, \"We have found the formula to defeat terrorism [as he said a few months ago].\" ... I would actually hope that he would act like Franklin Roosevelt who, the day after Pearl Harbor, stopped talking and instead went right to war.\"
Segal then asked, \"There was a report that leaked from the Prime Minister\'s Office that Sharon won\'t let Netanyahu force him to go more to the right than he feels is correct. Is it true that Netanyahu is breathing down Sharon\'s neck, and is it appropriate?\" Bushinsky\'s response:
\"Netanyahu gave an interview recently in which he said that he\'s not breathing down Sharon\'s neck; he\'s just breathing… To the point, however, let\'s look not at Netanyahu but at Chief of Staff Mofaz, who straight out called Arafat a terrorist. So if his own Chief of Staff calls Arafat a terrorist, what else does Sharon need? Does he need Netanyahu to tell him what to do?\"