Ask a good question

Olmert / The right stuff? - asks Aluf Benn in an article that, like myriad others, anticipates publication of the Winograd Committee interim report on the second Lebanon war issues.

I am not at all sure that the question is of interest. Olmert could be a (potential) new Disraeli of politics and new Clausewitz of military strategy, but it is irrelevant. It does not take several months of thorough investigation to come to a conclusion that became clear quickly enough: a rash decision sent an unprepared army to fight the right enemy in a wrong way. And Olmert must go not because of his IQ issues but because of the need to do the right thing and take the responsibility.

Of course, the Winograd Committee interim report will be read by precious few in its entirety, and of course the political enemies of Olmert will bang on their drums no matter what, as their motivation could not be farther from a noble goal of improvement of military or political mechanisms.

Of course, report conclusions notwithstanding, Olmert is not going to resign and the usual coalition inertia, strengthened by the ministers' arses being glued to their chairs, is going to carry the current setup for quite a long time.

And of course, the issue of Olmert's possible successor that could be considered even half seriously is remaining glaringly unresolved.

So what is a really good question then? I think I can suggest one.

Should we really bother about replacing Olmert in the circumstances?

Meanwhile from the scene:

I don't think the picture requires a comment...

It seems that, aside of Likud, another party was made happy by the Winograd report:

Hizbullah claimed victory in the Second Lebanon War following the publication of the Winograd report on the war's failures. "The report proves our divine victory came true. The Israeli side was defeated," a Hizbullah representative said in an interview with al-Manar.

Why do they need a confirmation from a mere mortal if the victory was divine?

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