The Wizard of Odds

"Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain"
The Wizard of Oz

Today, Arutz Sheva reports that "Sharon Plans Massive Withdrawals"

Middle East Newsline (MENL) reports in the name of "political sources" that Sharon has begun briefing senior U.S. officials of his intention to withdraw unilaterally from more than 95% of Judea and Samaria.

But keep in mind that this is all very hush-hush:

One of the most valuable "acquisitions" of the Kadima Party, MK Chaim Ramon, formerly of Labor, said openly last week that Sharon will unilaterally
withdraw to final borders in Judea and Samaria if Palestinian terror continues. IMRA reported that Ramon said this on a live interview on Channel 10's "London and Kirschenbaum" news program just hours after he announced his decision to join Sharon's Kadima.

Ramon explained that Sharon will keep his plans secret until the elections because he wants to give the Road Map a chance.

By all means, let's not let the Palestinian Arabs know that terror is getting them everything they want and more. Shhhhhhhh. Better yet, announce it on TV. Diabolically clever, no?

Though Sharon has denied that he plans any further disengagements, he pledged last week to "lay the foundation for a peace in which we set the permanent borders of the state, while insisting on the dismantling of the terror organizations."

Oh yes, "insisting on the dismantling of the terror organizations." Where have we heard this before? Let's see:

The Palestinian Authority has yet to comply with even one agreement they have signed since the Oslo Accord. They have violated the Oslo agreement, Oslo II, and the Road Map. Each agreement required the PA to disarm its terrorists and to empower its “security forces” to protect the safety of Israelis as well as Palestinian Arabs.

Everything2 explains the phrase "pay no attention to the man behind the curtain" as

a catchphrase that describes an organization or policy that attempts to conceal its true intent.

But this is Israel. Leave it to Sharon to declare his plan to the entire world and expect to get away with it.

Can he pull it off?

The odds seemed to be against the Disengagement, and here we are now dealing with its aftermath. For that matter, after Sharon was forced to resign as Defence Minister after the Sabra and Chatila massacre, who could have expected that Sharon would someday be Prime Minister?

The question is not whether he can pull it off; the question is what are the odds that anybody can stop him.

See also: Sharon: Is He Planning a Bank Withdrawl?

Crossposted on Israpundit

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