Prime Minister Ehud Olmert nixed the idea Monday of setting up a full-blown state commission of inquiry to probe the recent war in Lebanon, opting instead to establish three committees - with lesser powers - to examine the political and military aspects of the war, as well as the home front's preparedness.Needless to say, Olmert’s announcement of the establishment of a two – (maybe three) level committees (with no teeth or no bite) rather than a state commission inquiry, has not been met with an overwhelming response of awe or relief.
Olmert, speaking to local council heads in Haifa, began by listing what he said were the considerable achievements resulting from the war. However he added, "True, not everything worked as we wished; not everywhere were we prepared as we should have been; not everything clicked. There were flaws, there were failures. And even if the end result is positive, we must not turn a blind eye, we must not cover up and we must not continue as if nothing had happened." To this end, he said that three committees would be established to deal with different aspects of the war.
He said the first committee, to look at the performance of the political leadership, would be established by the government. It will probe how the government's decisions were made, and "anything else it sees fit." This committee will be headed by former Mossad head Nahum Admoni and include former navy commander Maj.-Gen. (res.) Yedidya Ya'ari, Prof. Ruth Gavison and Prof. Yehezkel Dror. Sources in the Prime Minister's Office confirmed that former Meretz MK Amnon Rubinstein turned down an offer to head the committee "for personal reasons."
The second committee will be set up by the Defense Ministry, to "carry out the necessary changes in the IDF's preparedness, fighting methodology and manpower needs." Olmert did not say who would lead this committee, but officials in his office said it would be based on a committee that Defense Minister Amir Peretz had already set up that was headed by former IDF chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. (res.) Amnon Lipkin-Shahak.
The final committee will be headed by State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss, to look at the failures in the home front's preparedness. The prime minister said that after a great deal of deliberation he had decided against setting up a state commission of inquiry, which would have been headed by a Supreme Court justice and would have had the authority to subpoena witnesses. Its proceedings would have been similar to those of a court.
Olmert said that this type of commission would "not prepare for the future, which is to deal with the Iranian threat." Instead, he said, "it would paralyze the entire system. Everyone would then get a lawyer and concentrate on how to pin the blame on someone else." "We do not have the luxury of sinking into investigations of the past," he said. "We need to focus on the future and the Iranian threat."
His decision was immediately blasted by politicians from all sides of the political spectrum, including some within his own coalition. For instance, Labor MK Ami Ayalon said, "The Israeli public needs its confidence restored in its elected officials. Only a state commission has the teeth to assure the Israeli public that the matter is truly being investigated."
During his speech in Haifa, Olmert dismissed some of the criticism of the war's conduct and the calls for the establishment of a state commission of inquiry as politically motivated. He said he had ignored such criticism, but that some criticism was "genuine," and the country needed to channel it into a quick, constructive process of learning lessons.
To paraphrase political commenter Shtrasler (at Ha’aretz); it took Olmert less time to decide to go to war than to make a decision on a committee of inquiry.
Meanwhile in other news today, Israeli Prime Mininter Olmert accuses Hezbollah leader Nasrallah of “arrogance.” Turban meet Kippah.
But here’s another thought to ponder. Last year, when the Israeli government evicted 8,500+ Israelis Jews from their homes in the Gaza Strip; it committed 50,000 IDF soldiers to clear the “unarmed” Jews from their homes. And yet, to fight a war with a well armed militia the Olmert government was only willing to call up 30,000 IDF troops.
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