Sharon's 40-tank bluster won't win security

Ariel Sharon says he wants security for his citizens, and he has dressed up his very personal war against Yasser Arafat in the language of George Bush's "war on terrorism" - Natanya is his ground zero and the Palestinian leader is his Osama bin Laden.

But as appalling as the constant terrorist attacks in Israel are, this is bad news diplomatically, politically and militarily.

The events of this week in the Middle East might have pointed the participants to the negotiating table, for all its shortcomings, but Sharon has marched straight for the shooting gallery.

And unless he is prepared to kill Arafat, his 40-tank act of bravado in the middle of the Ramallah night will look tired and impotent within days.