Terrorism has been disastrous for everyone, except Sharon.

Oh please, that is a ridiculous statement. If you think that terrorism has not been disastrous for all Israelis, then you know nothing of what's going on in the Middle East.

One effect of terrorism, though, is that it makes rightwingers like Sharon electable. When they feel secure, in the absence of terrorism, Israelis tend to elect leftwing governments. When they're under terrorist siege, they elect rightwing governments. And don't think the Palestinian terrorist masters don't know it. They don't care. If they did, they wouldn't strap bombs onto mentally retarded children.