An Israeli official accompanying Prime Minister Sharon to Washington expressed satisfaction with the visit, saying, \"We got what we wanted on this trip.\" The official also said that Arafat\'s name was barely mentioned during the discussion. When asked by reporters if Israel’s current military operation in Ramallah was harming American peace efforts, Bush said that on the one hand, Sharon is willing to discuss his vision of peace, while on the other hand, Israel has a right to defend herself. Sharon met afterwards with US Vice President Dick Cheney, and is scheduled to meet with British Prime Minister Tony Blair before returning to Israel tomorrow.
Yoram Ettinger, ex-Israeli liaison to Congress, explained to Arutz-7 today why the Bush-Sharon meeting is cause for satisfaction:
\"The joint threat to both US and Israel was never as clear to US officials as it is [now]... The U.S. is waiting for us to take action, and Bush clearly spelled these actions out in his speech at West Point two weeks ago. He said that the way to fight terrorism is not only via deterrence and defensive responses, but by taking the offensive - in the enemy\'s territory. He said that he would not sign agreements with regimes that systematically violate agreements. He said that the firm and resolute stand of democratic countries against such [terrorist] regimes does not \'create\' problems, but rather \'solves\' the problems. It is not hard to realize what these statements signify regarding Israel\'s freedom to act.\"
Yoram Ettinger, ex-Israeli liaison to Congress, explained to Arutz-7 today why the Bush-Sharon meeting is cause for satisfaction:
\"The joint threat to both US and Israel was never as clear to US officials as it is [now]... The U.S. is waiting for us to take action, and Bush clearly spelled these actions out in his speech at West Point two weeks ago. He said that the way to fight terrorism is not only via deterrence and defensive responses, but by taking the offensive - in the enemy\'s territory. He said that he would not sign agreements with regimes that systematically violate agreements. He said that the firm and resolute stand of democratic countries against such [terrorist] regimes does not \'create\' problems, but rather \'solves\' the problems. It is not hard to realize what these statements signify regarding Israel\'s freedom to act.\"