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October 10, 2007

Winograd Report will Spare Olmert - Temporarily

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A report that will detail Israeli mistakes and blunders made during the 2006 Hezb'allah War will not recommend that Prime Minister Olmert leave office. This, according to the Daily Star which also says that the Winograd Report will not be gentle with the Prime Minister when it is released before the end of the year:


The final report of an Israeli government commission investigating the failures of last year's Lebanon war will not recommend the dismissal of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Israeli media said on Tuesday.

"Olmert will be harshly criticized in the report, but there will be no recommendation to dismiss him," wrote the mass-selling Yediot Ahronot in comments echoed by other media. In April the Winograd Commission issued a damning interim report over the July-August 2006 war, roasting Olmert, former Defense Minister Amir Peretz and the military's ex-chief of staff, General Dan Halutz.

Its final report is expected to be released later this year. The decision not to include personal recommendations in the findings is considered by observers to be a big boost to Olmert - the only senior leader who has held on to his post despite what the panel said in its interim findings were "widespread failures" during the war

The interim report issued last spring was especially harsh on military chief Halutz whose experience as general in the air force was cited as a part of the reason the ground operations were delayed and mishandled.

While this is good news for Olmert, it probably won't save him. Labor party leader Ehud Barak told a Labor MK that the party will leave the government following the release of the Winograd Report and call for new elections:
According to the report, Barak said in the private conversation that he would abide by the commitment he made at Kibbutz Sdot Yam during the Labor race that upon the release of the report, he would "work to draft wide support in Labor and the other factions to set a date for early elections."

The statements from Barak followed reports that the Winograd Committee will not make recommendations for sanctions to be taken against anyone involved in the failures of the government during and leading up to the war. Barak reportedly said that he never thought the committee would call upon Olmert to quit.
It is probable that the scandal-plagued Olmert will lose his leadership position with Kadima before the next round of elections that most observers are now saying will occur sometime next year.
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