West Bank wall ensures safety

You can’t blame Ariel Sharon for wanting to build his proposed wall in the West Bank. Yes, it will protect some key Jewish settlements, but he is acting as any other politician would: He is catering to his constituents.

Imagine that, a politician looking out for citizens who vote for him. But the situation with the wall is different because in Israel, Sharon is protecting his constituents from death or destruction.

Any politician would protect homes of their constituents with walls or military presence if those constituents are blown-up on a weekly basis. But the Israeli military presence is extremely aggressive and its presence warrants more violence toward their own people. One can only hope that this wall will calm things down a bit.

Sharon is not like Bush, who caters to his constituents by cutting taxes for the rich (his CEO amigos) and defending the institution of marriage (Christian Coalition). Theoretically, Bush would do the same thing Sharon is doing if Americans were dying every day even though they are. Oops.

Back on track here, I sympathize with Sharon for doing his job as a politician and as a human being. Sharon is protecting his people, and nobody likes to see his people get hurt.

Last week, four American contractors were dragged through the streets and suspended on a bridge. Now everyone in Washington is talking about an “overwhelming” force in Iraq. Logically, one would remove American presence or strengthen security (build a wall!) on American contractors. This is the perfect example of how not to protect your people executed by everyone’s favorite Yale alum, George W. Bush.

Sharon is doing the right thing. He is protecting those settlements and he means business. He is acting naturally for his position, but there are still a lot of people who are not happy about this wall being built. They think that it will heat up the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

This might very well be true, but at least there will be a wall separating both angry parties. I love how much progress this war is making.

So regardless of your position on the wall, you can’t blame Sharon for doing his job. At least he is protecting the people close to him instead of messing about in the affairs of other countries. I hope that George W. Bush takes a lesson from Mr. Sharon, with less emphasis on a wall and more emphasis on poverty and urban renewal.

James Saul can be reached at jamsaul@temple.edu.