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| March 2007 - Ehud Olmert | |
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It seems almost as if Ariel Sharon, Israel's former Prime Minister, decided to exact revenge from the nation when he appointed Ehud Olmert to be his deputy. As if Sharon, just before lapsing into his deep coma, said to us: "So you think I am a reckless war criminal? Just wait and see my replacement. You think I am the corruption king? I shall be considered a saint, compared with Olmert's scams."
When the Kadima party was created, many were caught up in the fantasy that finally, a new party would emerge from Likud's pit of scum, a party whose leaders have learned the lesson, a party that would be pure and clean, that would say no to corruption, deception, war and Occupation. Those not caught up in these mirages knew that in politics, unlike math, a minus times a minus is not a plus, but rather a double minus. Whenever these two minuses - Sharon and Olmert - call the shots, not much good can happen.
Ehud Olmert has been our Prime Minister for less than a year, but he has already proven himself extraordinarily gifted in accumulating fiascos. Whoever follows Olmert's career with open eyes should not be surprised. A straight line connects cynical Jerusalem mayor Olmert, who in 1996 initiated (jointly with PM Netanyahu) the opening of the "Western Wall Tunnel", a provocation leading to bloodshed - and careless PM Olmert, who ten years later in summer 2006 decided, hastily and irresponsibly, within a few minutes, to initiate the second Lebanon war. Doubtlessly, at this point the war is his greatest failure.
Many IDF reservists demand Olmert's resignation because of the war, the military's lack of preparation and the government's betrayal of its northern residents. These demands are justified, but stop far short of describing the magnitude of Olmert's debacle. He should have been kicked out even had the war been a meteoric military success. The reckless and hasty manner in which Olmert maneuvered the government into war; the joy of pulling the trigger; his falling prey to the military brass promises of a 'cakewalk', a nice little air war without need for a single soldier to enter Lebanon; the adrenalin-rush temptation that he too will have his name stamped on a glorious blitz war; the cynical toying with human lives; the abdication of any long-term diplomatic and regional considerations - all these expose a man of poor judgment, a man who is a danger to the state.
The Olmert-Peretz duo, who followed the IDF rather than lead and supervise it, is a classic example for the failure of civilian oversight over our military. From the perspective of military adventurism, Olmert continues in the footsteps of the late PM Menachem Begin, originator of the 'war of choice' doctrine. Begin, too, believed the generals (headed by Sharon), who promised that a Lebanon war would be short, quick and elegant. He started the first Lebanon war, whose terrible end is well known. The difference between Begin and Olmert is that Begin entered his 'war of choice' after taking his place in history as the first Israeli PM to sign a peace agreement with an Arab country (Egypt). Olmert, on the other hand, has so far staked a claim in history as a 'peace refusenik' with both Syria and the Palestinians, even though in both cases an agreement appears quite possible. Syria practically begs for peace, but Olmert gives them the cold shoulder, subjugating himself to the priorities set on the sinking ship of another warlord, US President George W. Bush.
Olmert will of course be judged by history, but he should also be indicted for war crimes due to the rogue bombing of Lebanon, the destruction of its civilian infrastructure, the large-scale cluster bombing of civilian population, that continues to kill Lebanese civilians to this very day - and last but not least, the terrible pollution of the Mediterranean coast due to the bombing of fuel reservoirs. His decision to open the war in response to the killing and prisoner-taking of IDF reservists by Hizbullah, is like someone deciding to burn his neighbors' home to the ground because their son had scratched his car. Hizbullah's provocation tested the good judgment and intelligence of Olmert as a leader; after all, there was a variety of possible responses short of an all-out military assault. Olmert has miserably failed the test.
Olmert's failure has a direct effect on our future. We already see signs of a coming catastrophe around Iran's nuclear ambitions. Olmert is pushing for military conflict. The reports that our air force is practicing a bombing action in Iran should worry any sane person. If Olmert exercises the same recklessness against Iran that he has shown in Lebanon, this may turn out to be the end of Israel. A nuclear Iran is a good reason for worry; so is a nuclear Israel. Unlike Iran, Israel is already nuclear - and when such irresponsible hands are in charge of our red button, the road to national suicide is short.
Just like with Lebanon, Syria and the Palestinian issue, with Iran too the solution is not military strikes but diplomatic effort. We will not achieve security via a Middle East nuclear arms race - a race we have initiated decades ago - but rather, via a Middle East clear of any WMD's, and the dismantling of such weapons by all nations that have already acquired them.
As to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: here, too, Olmert has not delivered any good news. Occupation and oppression continue, settlement construction continues, extrajudicial executions continue, the bloody and costly "no partner" doctrine is still Israel's guiding principle. The IDF continues to suck away needless billions from the national pie, sheltered by the 'next war' mantra that dominates the mainstream agenda. Finally, Israel is still one of the world's leading weapons exporter, selling arms to tyrannical regimes.
Olmert's Israel is racist not only in the Occupied Territories, but also within its own borders, with the law that forbids its Palestinian citizens married to Occupied Palestinians to unite with their partners. Olmert's Israel continues to confiscate Palestinian lands for settlements, outposts and real-estate scams - for example, the Bil'in lands confiscated for the illegal Modi'in Illit settlement. Olmert's Israel continues to build the Apartheid Barrier, turning the West Bank into a series of ghettos reminiscent of the South African Apartheid's Bantustans - after the completion of that mission in Gaza.
Meanwhile, as a complement to Olmert the military adventurist, we have become reacquainted with Olmert, the financially corrupt politician. This is Olmert who arranges jobs for his party members; Olmert who has always managed to use power in order to 'provide for his family'; Olmert who takes care of his millionaire friends by privatizing the nation into oblivion; Olmert who sells his luxury Jerusalem mansion to an American billionaire friend, then continues to rent it from him; Olmert who buys another apartment and receives discounts and building-permit concessions; Olmert who channels government funds to his cronies via a private lawyer who is his ex-partner; Olmert who appoints a personally corrupt finance minister; and finally, Olmert who continues the government policy of making the rich richer and the poor poorer - making us world record holders for rapid transition from a welfare state to a third-world oligarchy with immense social gaps. Olmert presents to us a frightening display of government run by Big Money.
One Page of Shame is not enough for this man.
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| By Gideon Spiro (Translation: Assaf Oron) |
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