Bibi's Blog: Olmert's undeserving government

Behold.

The PM who failed in the war is evading responsibility.

Never has the State of Israel decided to go to war with such vast national and international support, including the rallying of the opposition to push back the attacks on Israel in the international sphere.

Never has the State of Israel gone to war while having such a big upper hand on the opponents it faced. Not since the War of Independence has the government had so much time to bring such a decisive ruling on what is to transpire in the battlefield.

However, even with such advantages, and as pointed out by the Winograd Committee, it is the first war initiated by Israel that it did not win.

The IDF fought with bravery and courage. The failure lies with the amateurish government.

Responsibility for the IDF lies with the political echelon! It is here where the right questions must be asked and where the right decisions must be taken. It is the political echelon that directs the military and not the other way around. And it is the political echelon that failed utterly in the Second Lebanon War.

This is the main finding of the Winograd Committee and it is no use trying to cover it up.

The committee had concluded: We place the responsibility on the shoulders of the three figures at the helm.

But while two of those figures - (former) Defense Minister Amir Peretz and (former) Chief of General Staff Dan Halutz - have since resigned from their positions, the prime minister refuses to follow suit.

He refuses to take responsibility, refuses to discover personal integrity and leadership, and refuses to do what the winning majority expect him to do.

There is great meaning to the word 'responsibility'. When a system fails so completely and when the consequences are so severe, the system must be replaced.

It occurred with other significant failures since the establishment of the State, and it occurred following this war with the military echelon.

Taking responsibility is not just about talking about responsibility. In this case, the PM must act as the defense minister and the chief of staff did.

Israel's citizens know that the country is currently being led by a PM who is not fit to sit in office, nor is he deserving of his title. [Defense Minister] Barak also knows this well, and the public expects him to fulfill his commitments to disable this failing leadership.

The argument that making such fateful mistakes can only lead to learning from them and fixing them is profoundly baseless and unrealistic.

Who would put his life in the hands of a surgeon who failed a surgery?

Who would get on a bus whose driver has been involved in a fatal accident?

The government is choosing to disconnect from the people and their pain. There has been a breakdown in the values of national responsibility that until last week was a guiding principle.

The schism is great but we, the citizens of Israel must not lose hope.

Israeli democracy is strong. I count on it and I put my trust in the integrity of the people and their strength.

Government spokespersons tell us that the situation is outstanding. Is that so?

In the north, Hizbullah is rearming at will. In the south, Hamas is launching thousands of rockets at our citizens and our cities. In the Southwest, the border between Gaza and Egypt is essentially breached. And the rest of the central systems in our daily lives, such as the educational system, are collapsing due to lack of vision and lack of deeds.

Is this the leadership in whose hands we must entrust our lives?

Is this the leadership in which our soldiers must put faith in should a second round of fighting arise?

Is this the leadership that can demand from the Palestinians the minimal conditions required for a true and just peace?

Israel's citizens sense that this leadership is preoccupied solely with its survival. They hear the collective sigh of relief from the Prime Minister's Office; they hear the celebrations and their hearts fill with anger and sorrow.

What happened to the guiding principles and the values that once led the country? Will this custom of lack of responsibility be what we raise our children with?

The prime minister's people speak of a 'continuous government', but in essence they are referring to the continuity of Olmert's rule - a rule of failure, inconsistency and irresponsibility that despairs the majority of the population.

And those who despair and those who are affected are not only the bereaved parents of soldiers who fell or of reserve soldiers who fought with courage and could be called to battle again.

We are talking about the masses of people from across the political spectrum who ask for good and responsible leadership for the State of Israel. And this leadership is attainable only through new elections.

David Ben-Gurion said: "Acknowledge every Hebrew mother who entrusted the life of her son in the hands of deserving commanders". Now I say "Acknowledge every Hebrew mother who entrusted the lives of her sons and their commanders in the hands of a deserving leadership."

Today, Israel's citizens are saying to the prime minister, loud and clear:

You are undeserving.

You do not deserve to lead the State of Israel any further.