There is much in Sharansky's account that is thought-provoking...But his analysis comes apart when he turns to the Middle East and compares Arafat to Stalin. Arafat was no saint and he certainly used terrorism against Israel, but he did not impose anything like Stalin's blood-drenched Terror on his own people...He acknowledges Palestinian "suffering", but not Palestinian nationalism. And he implies that Palestinians who say they are sick of the Israeli occupation are just displaying double-think" - spouting the requisite words to avoid trouble with the tyrannical Palestinian leadership. This is self-serving nonsense - the next
time Sharansky goes to the White House, President Bush should beware of
such double-speak.