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Prime Minister Ariel Sharon Suffers Massive Stroke

By Jeralyn, Section Foreign Affairs
Posted on Wed Jan 04, 2006 at 06:26:05 PM EST
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Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has suffered a massive stroke.

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon suffered a massive, life-threatening stroke Wednesday and underwent lengthy surgery to drain blood from his brain after falling ill at his ranch. Powers were transferred to his deputy, Ehud Olmert. Doctors placed Sharon on a respirator and were trying to save his life only hours before the hard-charging, overweight, 77-year-old Israeli leader had been scheduled to undergo a procedure to seal a hole in his heart that contributed to a mild stroke on Dec. 18.

Israeli Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger called on Israelis to read Psalms and pray for Sharon. "We are very, very worried," he said, and prayed for "mercy from Heaven."

Israel is warning its adversaries not to exploit the situation.

Speaking to reporters outside the hospital, Sharon aide Raanan Gissin warned Israel's enemies: "...the security forces and IDF (Israeli military) are ready for any kind of challenge," he said."

We hope for a miracoulous recovery.

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    Prime Minister Ariel Sharon Suffers Massive Stroke | 12 comments (12 topical)
    Re: Prime Minister Ariel Sharon Suffers Massive St (none / 0) (#1)
    by jimcee on Wed Jan 04, 2006 at 07:00:23 PM EST
    As a sad commentary is that when an old warrior comes to an epiphany that could help all of the Mid-East he comes to the point of death. At the same time, As the Palastinians are reaching a violent conclusion to Arafat's b*llsh*t leadership let us hope that the Palastinians and Israelis can come to some sort of accordance before the Iranians supply a nuclear weapon to some anti-Israel vest-bomber Islamist. This will happen sooner than later if the UN doesn't stop the Iranian program. Of course depending on the UN is rather a feeble thing.

    Re: Prime Minister Ariel Sharon Suffers Massive St (none / 0) (#2)
    by Edger on Wed Jan 04, 2006 at 07:17:32 PM EST
    Though I have not the background knowledge to judge whether it is realistic or not, Stratfor for a short while this afternoon posted on their site a seemingly fairly objective and cogent snapshot analysis of the political outlook for Israel and the impact on her relations with Palestine if Sharon is incapacitated (here's an excerpt):
    Without Sharon in the picture, none of his closest aides -- including Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert -- will be able to carry the party to victory in the March elections. This affects the Palestinian side as well [and] hurts Mahmoud Abbas badly. He heads the negotiation team on the Palestinian side, and he has lost his only credible negotiating partner. Politics, in the deepest sense, rarely depends on personality -- and when it does, that only signifies the fragility of the politics. Sharon's incapacitation and possible death is a case study of that. When a single man means so much to a negotiating process, that process is not robust enough anyway. Perhaps Olmert or someone else will emerge to manage that process, but we believe that unlikely.
    Time dot com also has a good article here that states:
    The impact of Sharon's departure from the Israeli and wider Middle Eastern political stage could be as great as that of his erstwhile nemesis, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat who died in 2004 — although in profoundly different ways.
    Re: Prime Minister Ariel Sharon Suffers Massive St (none / 0) (#3)
    by Edger on Wed Jan 04, 2006 at 07:42:30 PM EST
    jimcee: before the Iranians supply a nuclear weapon to some anti-Israel vest-bomber Islamist...This will happen sooner than later if the UN doesn't stop the Iranian program. The Iranians are, I think, not quite as suicidally nutty as many would have poeple believe:
    There are even rumors floating around in Tehran that [President] Ahmadinejad's days could be numbered, and that pragmatic forces within the regime are preparing for a coup. Apparently, Iran's political elite wants to prevent this president from turning the country into even more of a pariah on the international stage.
    Link

    Re: Prime Minister Ariel Sharon Suffers Massive St (none / 0) (#4)
    by jimcee on Wed Jan 04, 2006 at 09:11:53 PM EST
    Edger, Your citations may be correct but Iran is a democracy and this rather scary fellow was elected as thier leader. Granted that he has been over the top even for the Iranian mullahs who some say tried to assasinate him a couple of weeks ago but either way he is a loose end in the mid-east. A loose end who may or may not be willing to hand a nuclear weapon to some anti-Israel faction. If that happens the mid-east is the devil's playground. Somehow I find that really scary.

    Re: Prime Minister Ariel Sharon Suffers Massive St (none / 0) (#5)
    by BigTex on Wed Jan 04, 2006 at 10:02:51 PM EST
    The Iranian leader was elected because the main opposition decided to boycot the election... a process in which they were successful in electing their candidate for the past two elections. That bodes very poorly for Iran. It means either that the students (the main opposition) are exercising poor judgment, or that they were going to lose anyway and attempted to save face. The scary situation isn't if Iran slips a nuke, as far as anyone can tell they don't yet have nukes. The scary scenario is if they slip radioatcive mateiral for a dirty bomb. That would draw just as much ire from Israel, and could be done at a moment's notice. I'm very suprised that no one has hit the nuke facilities yet. This guy is scary, and odds are that Israel will go with Lukid over Labor in the next election if Sharon is not able to participate. Right now, in the absence of Israeli troops, Gaza is spiraling into anarchy. How long will Lukid allow that to continue after the elections? 1 mortar attack? 5 mortar attacks? 1 suicide bombing? 5 suicide bombings? That too is a grave, no pun intended, implication for the near future. Both Labor and Lukid went polar in the wake of a 3rd party forming, now it looks as if one side, probablly Lukid, will win the election. How likely is it that the lawless elements in Gaza, which have already said they will no longer abide by a ceasefire, will work with a new hard line government? Probablly not likely, the only question is how does Israel react.

    Re: Prime Minister Ariel Sharon Suffers Massive St (none / 0) (#6)
    by Edger on Thu Jan 05, 2006 at 08:56:49 AM EST
    Jimcee: If that happens the mid-east is the devil's playground...Somehow I find that really scary. It already is the devils playground, IMO, and somehow I find that really scary.

    Re: Prime Minister Ariel Sharon Suffers Massive St (none / 0) (#7)
    by Jlvngstn on Thu Jan 05, 2006 at 12:26:56 PM EST
    That would be the Likud party and Ahmenijad poses more of a threat than Saddam, Ghaddafi and Kim Jong Il combined. I believe that several European heads are monitoring that situation and brokering with the loon. Sharon has been such a powerful force in the peace process and if Netanyahu is elected we are looking at a greatly expanded timeline for peace. Mr. Sharon is needed to keep the peace process moving, I hope he can recover.....

    Re: Prime Minister Ariel Sharon Suffers Massive St (none / 0) (#8)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Thu Jan 05, 2006 at 02:43:25 PM EST
    Now Pat Robertson says God caused Sharon's stroke. Ugh:
    He was dividing God's land, and I would say woe unto any prime minister of Israel who takes a similar course to appease the EU, the United Nations or United States of America. God said, "This land belongs to me, you better leave it alone."


    Re: Prime Minister Ariel Sharon Suffers Massive St (none / 0) (#9)
    by Edger on Thu Jan 05, 2006 at 02:46:57 PM EST
    Pat Robertson? I think Pat's just bitter... after all, look what God turned Pat into. ;-)

    Re: Prime Minister Ariel Sharon Suffers Massive St (none / 0) (#10)
    by desertswine on Thu Jan 05, 2006 at 03:54:06 PM EST
    Television evangelist Pat Robertson suggested Thursday that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's stroke was divine retribution for the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, which Robertson opposed.
    Pat Robertson; whadda piece of work.

    Re: Prime Minister Ariel Sharon Suffers Massive St (none / 0) (#11)
    by Edger on Thu Jan 05, 2006 at 05:03:23 PM EST
    Sharon has suffered the worst type of stroke, leaving him with a poor chance of survival and hardly any hope of making a full recovery, experts say. "This is the deadliest and most disabling form of stroke that we face," Dr Stephan Mayer, associate professor of neurology and neurosurgery at Columbia University Medical Centre in New York. Link
    It doesn't look good for him. Best wishes to the man, for a least a partial recovery...

    Re: Prime Minister Ariel Sharon Suffers Massive St (none / 0) (#12)
    by Edger on Thu Jan 05, 2006 at 07:12:24 PM EST
    "A live Sharon is better for the Palestinians now, despite all the crimes he has committed against us." --Palestinian commentator Ghazi al-Saadi
    Prime Minister Ariel Sharon Suffers Massive Stroke | 12 comments (12 topical)