Search Results for: State Commission

Will the the Winograd Commission be Free of Taint or in Any Way Transparent?

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Light, Not Leaks (Jerusalem Post Editorial)

“In principle, of course, keeping the citizenry in the dark negates the commission’s raison d’etre – to uncover what went wrong, expose errors and name those responsible.”

Full Text;

Last week the public was told that the Winograd Commission’s interim report on the conduct of last summer’s Lebanese conflict, expected on March 27, will include no “personal recommendations.”

Moreover, no “warnings will be issued” to top brass, thereby lowering the likelihood of eventual stringent conclusions. read more

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With All of the Commissions of Investigation and All of the Findings, The Lessons of Lebanon are Lost on Dumb and Dumber

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They Would Not Listen, by Moshe Arens (Haaretz)

For context, click here.

“Rocket fire from Gaza occurs almost daily, endangering the civilian population in the south. It is a small-scale version of what happened in the north. Unless something is done about it soon, it will surely turn into a larger-scale version as time goes on. Yet our ground forces are not being ordered to put the Qassam rocket launchers out of range of our civilian population in the south.”

Full Text;

Now that we are beginning to learn what was said in the inner councils – at meetings with the prime minister, at meetings of the ministerial security committee and at sessions of the Israel Defense Forces General Staff – it is becoming clear that our leaders just would not listen to opinions that were contrary to theirs while discussions were being held on the conduct of the Second Lebanon War. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and then chief of staff Dan Halutz stubbornly clung to their fantasy that the war could be won from the air, while Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni thought that we could get the UN Security Council to pull us out of this mess by calling for a cease-fire, leaving Hezbollah undefeated. read more

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Olmert Attempts Squashing State War Probe by Any and All Means….

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State Won’t Disclose Letter on War Probe, by Dan Izenberg (Jerusalem Post)

Full Text;

The state on Sunday rejected a request to release the contents of a letter written by Attorney-General Menahem Mazuz to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in which Mazuz allegedly told Olmert he should appoint a state commission of inquiry to investigate the government’s handling of the war against Lebanon last summer.

The request was filed last week by the Movement for Quality Government, one of two watchdog organizations demanding that the government-appointed Winograd Committee of Examination into the government’s handling of the second Lebanese war be dismissed and replaced by a state commission of inquiry, whose members are appointed by the president of the Supreme Court. read more

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The Way to an Independent War Commission…

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State Comptroller’s Report May Spark Independent War Commission

For Context, click here.

Full Text;

The state comptroller’s investigation into the war in Lebanon some feel may spark the formation of an independent commission of inquiry as is being demanded by many.

State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss has assigned 50 members of his staff to investigate the war in Lebanon, a report that is likely to spark much criticism after it is submitted to the Knesset Audit Committee.

Committee Chair MK (Yisrael Beitenu) Esterina Tratman is expected to use the report to launch her drive towards the establishment of an independent commission, unwilling to accept Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s government-appointed commission with its limited mandate. Tratman has called on the State Comptroller’s Office to submit an interim report, hoping to find the ammunition to arm herself for the battle against the prime minister, who remains adamantly opposed to an independent commission. read more

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Winograd Commission: Judges of, or Subordinate to, the Regime Initiating It?

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A Commission on Probation By Ari Shavit (Haaretz)

“Judge Eliyahu Winograd, Yehezkel Dror, Haim Nagel, Menachem Einan and Ruth Gavison are now facing the most important moment of their public lives. Nothing that they have done in the past comes close in importance to what they are about to do now. No professional achievement that they might attain in the future will be able to atone for a crucial mistake made now.”

“History will not forgive the members of the Winograd Commission if, in this fateful autumn, they fail to rise above themselves, and instead fall asleep on their watch and betray their mission.” read more

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Commission of Investigation: Examine Olmert’s Judgement in Ignoring Dangers from Hezbollah by Appointing Peretz DM…

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The Chief of Staff’s Warning By Uri Dan (Jerusalem Post)

Excerpts;

“In a state willing to release 400 prisoners in return for the bodies of three Israeli soldiers – the abduction of an Israeli soldier would be considered a strategic attack.”

This was the very clear warning delivered by Chief of General Staff Dan Halutz to the top brass of the IDF Northern Command less than five months before two Israeli soldiers were abducted, and whose fate remains unknown to this day. read more

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State Controller Can Blow Olmert’s Attempts to Deflect Responsibility Out of Water…

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War Committee to Begin Probe Monday By Herb Keinon (Jerusalem Post)

Excerpts;

The Winograd Committee, created to probe the war in Lebanon, is expected to start its work on Monday, following a tortuous route, whereby it took almost as long for the government to set up a committee to investigate the war as it did to fight the war itself.

The cabinet on Sunday approved the establishment of the Winograd Governmental Investigative Committee by a vote of 20-2, with Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz (Kadima) abstaining. read more

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Olmert’s “Investigation Commission”: Stacked With All of His Cronies?

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PM: Commission to Have State Powers

Excerpts;

The Winograd Commission of investigation into the management of the war in Lebanon will be given the same authority as a state commission, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Sunday at the opening of the weekly cabinet meeting.

“It is the government’s intention to invest the committee with all the powers of a state inquiry commission, as required by law and according to the decision of the justice minister,” he said.

“I hope the committee will complete its task as quickly as possible and help the State of Israel better prepare itself for the challenges that await us,” Olmert said. read more

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A 9/11-Like Commission for Israel?

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Create a ‘9/11 Commission’
From The Jerusalem Post

Not since the end of the 1973 war has there been such a pervasive sense that something fundamental is wrong with our political and military leadership. Even if this sense is exaggerated, the breadth of public distrust and discouragement is itself a problem that must be addressed.

The principal mechanism to begin restoring confidence in our leadership needs to be a proper investigation into the conduct of the war, how the problems the war revealed developed over time, and what must be done to fix them. read more

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Gays Running Interference for Olmert’s “Government Commission” ?? Police Nix Event: Too Close to New Year …

moshe

Gay Pride Parade in Jerusalem Rescheduled

Excerpt;

“The Open House organization has announced the International Gay Pride Parade will take place in Jerusalem on September 21st. The event was scheduled to take place in the capital in August, but was postponed due to the war in Lebanon.”

Commentary;

One crucial question; Olmert knows the timing all too well — Gay Parade on
September 21st, the day before Erev Rosh Hashanah. Is he using the Gays to run interference to evade institution of a State Commission to investigate all aspects of the conduct of the War in Lebanon?? MB read more

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