January 6, 2006
Without Sharon, Bush's Mideast Path Uncertain
By Tyler Marshall and Laura King, Times Staff Writers
A photograph supplied by the Israeli Government Press Office shows acting Isralei prime Minister Ehud Olmert as he chairs a cabinet meeting in the Prime Ministry in Jerusalem on Thursday morning next to the empty chair of Ariel Sharon.
(Avi Ohayon / EPA)
Jan. 5, 2006
WASHINGTON — Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's stroke has left a gaping hole in the Bush administration's approach to resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and stabilizing the broader Middle East.
For much of President Bush's tenure, U.S. policy in the dispute has been shaped more by Sharon's ideas than any other factor.
Sharon remained in grave condition Thursday at a hospital in Jerusalem, where he was placed in a medically induced coma after nearly eight hours of neurosurgery.
Vice Prime Minister Ehud Olmert formally assumed temporary leadership of the Israeli government, and several of Sharon's closest allies acknowledged that even if he survived the massive cerebral hemorrhage he suffered late Wednesday, it was highly unlikely he would ever be healthy enough to return to his post.
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http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-usmideast6jan06,1,1844580.story?coll=la-headlines-world