Even a cursory review of press reports reveals that the ill-timed visit by Ariel Sharon to the Temple Mount was but the pretext for a wave of arson, shooting and rioting orchestrated by the Palestinian Authority's militia and applauded by the PA's tame television and media outlets. Think of this as war, and the deplorable becomes the entirely logical. Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's decision to use the first pretext for violence following the collapse of the Camp David negotiations was, from a strategist's point of view, altogether sound. This placed Mr. Arafat in difficulty with some segments of his own side, not to mention Arab states that have no interest in a final peace between Palestinians and Israel. So out came the rioters.
Riots mean civilian casualties, and civilian casualties look good on television.
Indeed, world opinion has once again turned against alleged Israeli brutality. This was important to Mr. Arafat, because after Camp David there seemed to be no pressure on Israel to make more attractive offers than those he had already pocketed, and deadlock would only give a greater opening to Palestinian critics of his unsavory regime. Mr. Arafat had also observed the unilateral Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon, under pressure, with no formal deal, and seemingly as a result of a mere trickle of casualties. This is a war that involves talking while fighting, and as America learned in Vietnam, democracies handle the ambiguities of such conflicts very poorly indeed. Israel will have to draw its own conclusions about the war, but the U.S. would do well to put together its own list.