Mr. Bush's Albatross

President George Bush has made another bad deal with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. In exchange for lifting the restrictions on Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat, Mr. Bush has agreed to back Israel in blocking a United Nations investigation of the Jenin refugee camp killings.

Way to go, Mr. Prez. In exchange for Israel doing what it should have done anyway, you agreed to block an investigation of a possible war crime. That makes you look real good in the eyes of the world. In case you haven't noticed, your pal Sharon has become a fat albatross around your neck.

I suppose I should be pleased since, for humanitarian reasons, I'm opposed to Mr. Bush's plan to attack Iraq. As long as he lugs around Sharon and continues his outrageously unfair policy toward the Palestinians, he will get zip cooperation from Arab countries for his little imperial war against Baghdad.

Mr. Bush's first mistake was allowing Sharon to humiliate him in front of the world. It was Mr. Bush's choice to use the imperative when he ordered the Israelis to cease their invasion of the West Bank. Well, when the president of the United States issues an order on global television, he'd darn well better make sure it is obeyed. For two days, Sharon didn't even acknowledge Bush's existence, much less do what he was told.

A stronger president, say a Harry Truman or a Dwight Eisenhower, would have gotten Sharon on the telephone and said: "Listen, if there is any doubt in your mind as to which of us is the big kahuna, it's me. Get those troops out of the West Bank now or see how you like living without $3 billion in American aid. If necessary, I'll freeze every asset the Israeli government has in the United States and suggest a U.N.-sponsored economic embargo.