Former IDF chief: Olmert must resign

I said at the time that I thought it was one of the most bizarre military moves I had ever witnessed.

Now Israel's former chief of staff Moshe Ya'alon has gone further and castigated Olmert's decision to launch a ground offensive at the end of the war against Hizbullah saying that Olmert and his chief of staff should resign for an act of "spin" that resulted in the needless deaths of 33 Israeli soldiers.

"That was a spin move," Ya'alon said. "It had no substantive security-political goal, only a spin goal. It was meant to supply the missing victory picture. You don't do that. You don't send soldiers to carry out a futile mission after the political outcome has already been set.

I consider that corrupt."

You are saying a very serious thing. Thirty-three soldiers were killed in that operation. Were they killed to achieve a spin?

"Yes. And that is why people have to resign. For that you don't even need a commission of inquiry. Whoever made that decision has to assume responsibility and resign."

Does the prime minister have to resign?

"Yes. He can't say he didn't know. He can't say that. Even if he was not an army person in the past and was not prime minister or defense minister, he knows how one goes to war. This is not the way to go to war. And he knows how a war is managed. This is not the way a war is managed. Going to war was scandalous, and he is directly responsible for that. The war's management was a failure, and he is responsible for that. The final operation was particularly problematic, and he was directly involved in that. He was warned and did not heed the warnings. Therefore, he must resign."

Olmert's days are surely numbered. Now we have a former chief of staff openly calling for him to go.

Let's leave aside the war crimes that were committed, the bombing of power stations and the wanton destruction that he wreaked on the Lebanese civilian population, let's even leave aside the fact that Gilad Shalit and two other soldiers remain kidnapped.

In the final days of the war he launched a ground offensive that had no military purpose other than to create the illusion of victory and, during that offensive, 33 Israeli soldiers needlessly lost their lives. And that's before we even ask how many Lebanese and Palestinians were killed during this futile publicity stunt.

Things are about to get more difficult for Olmert following the resignation of GOC Northern Command Udi Adam who resigned on Wednesday.

Adam's resignation has sent shudders through the IDF leadership, because it is considered the first likely break from the standard line taken by the country's leadership regarding the war and its results.

So far Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Peretz and Halutz have held a common line, arguing that the IDF beat Hezbollah "on points," and claiming that the gravity of any failings does not require any resignations.

Adam had told the press recently that when he retires from service, he will make his views public, and this is causing a great deal of unease among the IDF's upper ranks, because his resignation is viewed as the first rupture among the generals.

A source close to Adam described him as "inexperienced at flinging mud. Major General Adam is a simple, honest man, who goes by the book. He feels that a political struggle is being carried out at his expense, and this has made it very difficult for him."

Adams may be very "inexperienced at flinging mud" but one is left with the distinct impression that it won't take an awful lot of mud throwing to make Olmert's position untenable.

I wonder, if Olmert is forced to stand down, if Bush will continue with his insane proposition that Israel won the war with Hizbullah?

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Tags: Israel, Lebanon, Hezbullah, Olmert, Adams, Ya'alon,