Former Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon passed into the mist of time after being in coma for eight years. It was in Mar '05, while he was the PM, that he'd slipped into a coma from a severe stroke, never to regain consciousness till his end, today, at a hospital in Tel Aviv.
What a tragic end for a brilliant military commander and a fiery political leader? He believed that reliance on others had brought his people unmitigated disaster and was of the opinion that the Jews should assert and defend their collective needs without embarrassment or fear of censure! 'Arik' to his friends and countrymen shall always be a knight in shining armour for the tremendous feeling of security that he'd provided them during his tenure as their military commander.
The media will cover his life in detail over the next couple of days and I shall desist from writing anything more about him as I must confess that my knowledge about him is too little. Then, what makes me write this piece, you might wonder.
In autumn '92, I was among a team of seven student trainees doing the 'staff course' at the DSSC, Wellington which carried out a 'minor research project' on the 'Yom Kippur' war of '73 between the Arabs and the Israelis - the then Israeli military commander was none other than Major General Ariel Sharon. At the end of the study, we'd to make a presentation to the entire college. The presentation was divided into the various battles of the campaign and I was to cover the action on the Golan Heights. For this, I'd donned the role of Gen Ariel Sharon while Nirmala, a fellow student, took on the role of a journalist interviewing me about my exploits at the battlefront and as I went through the intricate moves and maneuvers, another fellow student and team mate was following my narration on a sand model for the comprehension of the audience!
I remember the lavish praise and appreciation that we got from the audience for our narration and I'd earned the sobriquet of 'General Sharon', subsequently! And I almost began to behave like him for many days after!!
RIP, Ariel Sharon. My salute to a great military leader and condolences to his family. Can't imagine the trauma that they must have gone through, over the past eight years!
Tailpiece.
His quality of holding the initiative to drive the action at all times on the battlefield, made him a military leader par excellence!
What a tragic end for a brilliant military commander and a fiery political leader? He believed that reliance on others had brought his people unmitigated disaster and was of the opinion that the Jews should assert and defend their collective needs without embarrassment or fear of censure! 'Arik' to his friends and countrymen shall always be a knight in shining armour for the tremendous feeling of security that he'd provided them during his tenure as their military commander.
The media will cover his life in detail over the next couple of days and I shall desist from writing anything more about him as I must confess that my knowledge about him is too little. Then, what makes me write this piece, you might wonder.
In autumn '92, I was among a team of seven student trainees doing the 'staff course' at the DSSC, Wellington which carried out a 'minor research project' on the 'Yom Kippur' war of '73 between the Arabs and the Israelis - the then Israeli military commander was none other than Major General Ariel Sharon. At the end of the study, we'd to make a presentation to the entire college. The presentation was divided into the various battles of the campaign and I was to cover the action on the Golan Heights. For this, I'd donned the role of Gen Ariel Sharon while Nirmala, a fellow student, took on the role of a journalist interviewing me about my exploits at the battlefront and as I went through the intricate moves and maneuvers, another fellow student and team mate was following my narration on a sand model for the comprehension of the audience!
I remember the lavish praise and appreciation that we got from the audience for our narration and I'd earned the sobriquet of 'General Sharon', subsequently! And I almost began to behave like him for many days after!!
RIP, Ariel Sharon. My salute to a great military leader and condolences to his family. Can't imagine the trauma that they must have gone through, over the past eight years!
Tailpiece.
His quality of holding the initiative to drive the action at all times on the battlefield, made him a military leader par excellence!
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