Remembering Olmert's record -Caroline Glick
[I]t is critical to consider outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's actual record of service as prime minister. [B]y understanding what he has done over the past three years and two months, we ensure that he will be properly remembered [as] the worst prime minister Israel has experienced to date.
[T]he only prime minister to have led Israel to defeat in war - and indeed, in his case, in two wars - Olmert wielded the sword with utter strategic incompetence.
[I]t is critical to consider outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's actual record of service as prime minister. [B]y understanding what he has done over the past three years and two months, we ensure that he will be properly remembered [as] the worst prime minister Israel has experienced to date.
[T]he only prime minister to have led Israel to defeat in war - and indeed, in his case, in two wars - Olmert wielded the sword with utter strategic incompetence.
Throughout his tenure as prime minister, Israel never once launched a sustained operation aimed at blocking organizations in Gaza from transporting ever more lethal weapons systems into the area through its border with Egypt.
Olmert entered office in January 2006 pledg[ing] to unilaterally surrender Judea, Samaria and large areas of Jerusalem to the Fatah terrorist organization. Olmert was both politically and ideologically committed to the [mistaken] belief that wars are unwinnable and consequently enemies need to be appeased rather than defeated.
Olmert entered office in January 2006 pledg[ing] to unilaterally surrender Judea, Samaria and large areas of Jerusalem to the Fatah terrorist organization. Olmert was both politically and ideologically committed to the [mistaken] belief that wars are unwinnable and consequently enemies need to be appeased rather than defeated.
Hizbullah's and Hamas's post-surrender aggression exposed Olmert's political platform as both wrongheaded and dangerous. Absent an order to conquer southern Lebanon and defeat Hizbullah as a fighting force, the IDF could not hope to defeat Hizbullah. [T]he only "message" Israel conveyed was one of military incompetence and weakness.
Instead of concentrating diplomatic efforts on convincing the nations of the world to prevent Iran from acquiring the means to destroy the Jewish state and to dominate the region, Olmert concentrated his diplomatic efforts on strengthening the Fatah terrorist organization against the Hamas terrorist organization.
This goal required him to ignor[e] certain basic facts about Fatah. Israel needed to ignore the fact that Fatah rejects its right to exist and openly calls for its destruction. Israel needed to ignore Fatah's continued direct involvement in terror attacks against it and its complicity with and support for Hamas and Islamic Jihad attacks. Israel had to ignore Fatah's cozy ties with Hizbullah, Syria and Iran and the leadership role Fatah occupies in the international diplomatic offensive and political war against the Jewish state.
Due to Olmert's willingness to turn a blind eye to Fatah's belligerence, the effect has been to legitimize all of our enemies and encourage them to maintain and expand their campaigns on every front.
[D]ue to Olmert's refusal to acknowledge Fatah's lead role in terrorism, he paved the way for the current state of affairs where Fatah forces are now being trained and armed by the US military.
By destroying the IDF's international reputation as a world-class fighting force though twice committing it to war and twice refusing to allow it to fight to victory, Olmert wrecked Israel's reputation as a steady and reliable strategic ally in Washington.
Our wherewithal to survive with the strategic wreckage he has laid before us depends on our capacity to understand and remember the dimensions of Olmert's incompetence.
[Jerusalem Post]
Instead of concentrating diplomatic efforts on convincing the nations of the world to prevent Iran from acquiring the means to destroy the Jewish state and to dominate the region, Olmert concentrated his diplomatic efforts on strengthening the Fatah terrorist organization against the Hamas terrorist organization.
This goal required him to ignor[e] certain basic facts about Fatah. Israel needed to ignore the fact that Fatah rejects its right to exist and openly calls for its destruction. Israel needed to ignore Fatah's continued direct involvement in terror attacks against it and its complicity with and support for Hamas and Islamic Jihad attacks. Israel had to ignore Fatah's cozy ties with Hizbullah, Syria and Iran and the leadership role Fatah occupies in the international diplomatic offensive and political war against the Jewish state.
Due to Olmert's willingness to turn a blind eye to Fatah's belligerence, the effect has been to legitimize all of our enemies and encourage them to maintain and expand their campaigns on every front.
[D]ue to Olmert's refusal to acknowledge Fatah's lead role in terrorism, he paved the way for the current state of affairs where Fatah forces are now being trained and armed by the US military.
By destroying the IDF's international reputation as a world-class fighting force though twice committing it to war and twice refusing to allow it to fight to victory, Olmert wrecked Israel's reputation as a steady and reliable strategic ally in Washington.
Our wherewithal to survive with the strategic wreckage he has laid before us depends on our capacity to understand and remember the dimensions of Olmert's incompetence.
[Jerusalem Post]
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