Right of Return...to Florida

I'm still trying to study the pros and cons of Bush's decision to back Sharon's plan to withdraw from Gaza while retaining the larger settlements. And I generally stay away from what Billmon calls the "Death Valley of progressive politics." Billmon is on a roll these days, but I'm not sure I share his view on how this will make us more vulnerable to terrorism, I still believe that Hamas et al, will continue to direct their horrendous acts at Israelis, not the US because the nature of their grievance is different from Islamic fundamentalists (but surely Billmon is right if he means that it will just give said fundamentalists yet another talking point to stoke their deluded anger).

I just don't know enough to take a firm stand with confidence [ed., since when has your scarcity of knowledge stopped you?]

But when I see Ariel Sharon wearing a shit-eating grin when he appears with Bush before reporters, I realize he's gotten everything he wanted. More, probably, than he expected. And that makes me very nervous.

And why, oh why, now? I suspect Sharon has outfoxed Bush and Rove, forcing their hand to make a stand to impress the Christian Right, and force Kerry to swerve hard to the right to try to protect his flank with the "Jewish vote" (whatever that is, they seem pretty well dispersed to a wide variety of classes and political leanings).

In the midst of the worst month of fighting so far in Iraq (April is the cruelest month), why break with years of official US policy opposing the settlements and making the right of return a subject for negotiation between the two parties? Clearly Bush is right in saying that "facts on the ground" make these realities, but symbols matter and this doesn't seem the right time to take this unilateral (or duolateral) course.

And since when has "facts on the ground" driven Bush's decisions?