At his cabinet meeting, Mr Sharon stressed Israel's overriding interest in maintaining close co-ordination with America.

ECONOMIST: Serious about peace

They realised that they needed to achieve their goals not through war but through close co-ordination with allies.

ECONOMIST: The cold war

Boston, for instance, has seen similar falls in its murder rate, yet it rejected zero-tolerance policing in favour of close co-ordination between the police, probation officers and black leaders, and an effort to get guns off the streets.

ECONOMIST: The dark side of zero tolerance