WHO IS ARIEL SHARON?

When Ariel Sharon visited an agricultural high school outside Beersheva in the final phase of his campaign to become Israel's Prime Minister, he was met by 16-year-old Ilil Komey, whose father has suffered from shellshock in the wake of Israel's illegal 1984 invasion of Lebanon. In a scene recorded by Israeli national television , Ms. Komey pointed her finger at Israel's premier warhawk, and said:

"I think you sent my father into Lebanon. Ariel Sharon, I accuse you of having made me suffer for 16 some odd years. I accuse you of having made my father suffer for over 16 years. I accuse you of a lot of things that made a lot of people suffer in this country. I don't think that you can now be elected as prime minister."

GREAT NEWS!
While Ms. Komey's outrage may be righteous, her future as a political pundit seems cloudy, at best: if the polls are correct, it looks like Sharon – known as "the Bulldozer" for his policy (while minister of "infrastructure") of destroying Palestinian homes to make way for Israeli "settlements" – will flatten Ehud Barak and emerge at the head of the Israeli government at a crucial time in his nation's history. They tell a story about Sharon's early career that helps to put his expected election victory in perspective, and gives us an idea of what makes the incoming Prime Minister of Israel tick: As the head of "Unit 101," the notorious terrorist squad, Sharon and his fellow thugs were camped out on a kibbutz near the Syrian border, having been ordered not to make a move unless provoked. One day, Sharon ran into the headquarters, yelling "Great news! They've just killed the guard!"