Jonah, while we wait to see how the ‘European street’ reacts to “bin Laden’s” offer, I have to say that the timing of the Bush administration’s decision to support the Sharon plan has me puzzled, to say the least. Regardless of the rights and wrongs of that plan (that’s an entirely different discussion), to come out in support of it now, particularly against a backdrop of major problems in Iraq is, quite simply, senseless. Yes, we can all mock, and, rightly so, Kerry’s ‘nuanced’ diplomacy, but that’s no reason to offer shooting oneself in the foot as the principal alternative. It shouldn’t need repeating, but the overriding aim of US foreign policy must be the destruction of the Islamist terrorist threat directed at this country. The President’s stance gives Europe yet another ‘reason’ to distance itself from the US in that struggle and it makes matters even more difficult for America’s allies or potential allies (such as they are) in Iraq and elsewhere in the Muslim Middle East. And what does the US get in return? Nothing, so far as I can see. I hope I’m wrong.