August 19, 2006 at 13:02:15

Firing Squad: Time for Accountability in Israel

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By John E. Carey (about the author) Page 3 of 3 page(s)

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But this could all be window dressing.

Mister Olmert led his nation into war and then lost the war.

Mr. Olmert's "on again, off again" handling of the IDF manacled generals in the field. His famous 48 hour air assault cease fire was a terrific failure. By withholding the main thrust of the ground offensive to the Litani River while diplomats dithered in New York, Mr. Olmert handcuffed his generals and needlessly put lives at risk.

As Shmuel Rosner reminded Israeli readers in the Haaretz newspaper on Thursday, "This is not a Presidency - it's the constant coalition of the willing, and the weaker the Prime Minister gets, the faster he will be abandoned by his partners."

Or, as observer Noah Pollak wrote, "To most Israelis, supporters of Israel, and especially to the IDF soldiers I spoke to on the border over the past few days, the cessation of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah that recently went into effect is viewed as a cruel indignity, a dangerous projection of Israeli weakness and equivocation, and a plucking of defeat from the jaws of victory."

The people of Israel, we expect, will come to their own conclusions on Mr. Olmert.

On The Rise?

So who may be on the rise in Israel? Perhaps Bibi Netanyahu.Former Prime Minister and hard liner Mr. Binyamin (Bibi) Netanyahu, currently the Opposition Leader, said this week the government needed unity but also needed a careful self-examination concerning the war against Hizbullah terrorists. He criticized the Olmert administration for not declaring an emergency situation at the outset of the war.

The former prime minister also attacked Prime Minister Olmert for not accomplishing the return of two kidnapped IDF soldiers and the dis-arming of Hizbullah.

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