First, this report on last night’s rocket blitz on Haifa which killed 3 and destroyed several apartment houses;
3 Dead, 160 Injured in Rocket Barrage on Haifa
Excerpt;
“160 people were treated for physical injuries and psychological trauma. Four people were reported in serious but not life-threatening condition. Seven others suffered moderate wounds. Security officials said at least one of the rockets was a 220-mm Syrian-made missile. The rocket barrage scored several direct hits, including two apartment buildings.”
This news should be read for context alongside what has to be considered a startling revelation and admission made by Ehud Olmert on Sunday;
In the Welt am Sonntag interview, Olmert was asked if he had underestimated Hizbullah.
“No, we know that they have only fired 3,000 rockets so far and that they have 15,000,” he said….
Olmert said Hizbullah was being defeated but it was not possible to eradicate a grass-roots guerrilla movement.
One should also understand the above report on the blitz in Haifa on Sunday evening in context with this article which appeared in Haaretz on Friday;
Olmert’s Victory Parade By Aluf Benn Fri., August 04, 2006 Av 10, 5766
Excerpts;
Olmert is troubled by the criticism of the war, and by the sense of an opportunity blown that he’s picking up from newspaper and TV commentators. His message was that Israel is winning in this conflict. That Hezbollah has been badly hurt. Olmert “has no criticism of Ariel Sharon,” who did not attack Hezbollah’s rocket network. But he believes that his decision three weeks ago to respond full-force to Hezbollah’s provocation was unprecedented. And it must be borne in mind that Israel’s national interest does not depend on the life of a soldier or two.
Olmert was drunk on his victory over Hassan Nasrallah, while outside 200 rockets were landing on the communities of the North. He made it clear that the war would continue until an international force is deployed in southern Lebanon in place of the IDF. Nasrallah will go on being a target, even after the cease-fire. Israel will demand the unconditional release of its captive soldiers. The army is superb and the intelligence is excellent. His initial reservations about the international force stemmed from his assessment that Israeli public opinion would have trouble taking that in. If Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni convinced him that the international force is worth supporting, what’s so bad about that?
Then Olmert slipped up slightly and told the Associated Press that the war in Lebanon would give new momentum to the convergence, “separating from the Palestinians” as he put it. True, the reporter provoked him: They say that having returned to Gaza and Lebanon, you won’t be able to carry out the convergence. But instead of saying he’s “not dealing with that” now, but only with the war on terror, Olmert couldn’t restrain himself. He took an immediate hit from the right and threats of refusing service on the part of soldiers and officers from the settlements.
Why should we go into Lebanon if the goal is to expel us from our homes, they asked, and mentioned the prominence of settlers among the war dead.
Olmert was forced to fold, and at night his bureau issued a statement on his conversation with MK Effi Eitam, in which he said that the war in the North “has no connection to future political moves in other arenas.”
Here are some other examples of Olmert’s previous boasts during the duration of the war in Lebanon;
Olmert: Israel is Winning Tuesday August 1, 2006
Excerpts;
An immediate ceasefire is not in Israel’s interests because it is “winning the battle” against Hizbullah after 21 days of conflict, the country’s prime minister, Ehud Olmert, said today. “We are at the beginning of a political process that in the end will bring a ceasefire under entirely different conditions than before,” he told an audience at Israel’s National Security College.
Just 2 weeks ago,
IDF: 40-50% of Hizbullah’s Military Capability Destroyed Jul. 18, 2006
Excerpts;
“…That 40 to 50 percent of Hizbullah’s military capability has been destroyed in the six days of the IDF counter-attack following last Wednesday’s Hizbullah raid in northern Israel.
The IDF, it is understood, believes it needs at least another week or so to achieve its military goals in terms of removing Hizbullah’s capacity to threaten Israel.”
Commentary;
An inept Prime Minister tries to fool the people with spin about winning a war that he refuses to take the gloves off and let the IDF do; fight to win. Thus every boast keeps getting proven wrong, planting the seeds of self-doubt in the minds of IDF soldiers while handcuffing and preventing them from winning. But one cannot keep fooling the masses indefinitely. Your media spin of victory just won’t work without tangible results; the destruction and eradication of Hezbollah and Hamas as well as their sponsors.
Ehud, “Convergence?” Get a life! MB
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