[SJackson]

I've been watching in tears the removal of the Jewish settlers. These people turned deserted land into oasis, created beautiful communities and lived their lives on JEWISH land and now it's been taken away from them. It is unbelievable, my friends, unbelievable that it was allowed to happen.

A human tragedy, regardless of one's opinion of the withdrawl. There was a beginning of civilization there, which I suspect will be lost.

[strategofr]

"A human tragedy, regardless of one's opinion of the withdrawl. There was a beginning of civilization there, which I suspect will be lost."

People are missing the point. Bush and Sharon made a trade. This is what Bush got (the Gaza pullout). Sharon got: Bush's outright rejection of the Palestinian Right of Return, still officially "on the table" in the negotiations and acceptance of the idea that Israel will hold onto some West Bank territories permanently.

Both statements were unprecedented moves of support by a US president. The trade was worth it. Having agreed to the deal, Sharon had to pay up on his end.

Now Hamas and the PLA face a quandry. They can no longer simultaneously claim they want peace with an Israeli withdrawal and that they want to kill all the Jews. They have to choose one.