Last update - 00:00 13/09/2006
Olmert to bring Winograd committee proposal for cabinet approval
By Aluf Benn, Haaretz Correspondent
The mandate of the Winograd committee satisfies the Israel Defense Forces and its officers will cooperate in full without any hesitation, a senior military source said on Wednesday.
The government-appointed committee of investigation that will be headed by retired judge Eliyahu Winograd draws its authority from the Basic Law on the Government and has been mandated to examine both the military and political echelons for their conduct in the Lebanon War, and will also be in a position to offer immunity to witnesses.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will bring before the cabinet on Wednesday the proposal for the establishment of the committee. In addition to Winograd, Olmert is proposing Professors Ruth Gavison and Yehezkel Dror, and Major General (res.) Menachem Einan. The candidacy of another senior officer is pending an evaluation into whether his appointment constitutes a conflict of interest.
Prior proposals for committees to investigate the war raised concerns among the officers who felt that they were being singled out unfairly for failings in the campaign.
Thus, for example, Chief of Staff Dan Halutz expressed reservations over the decision of Defense Minister Amir Peretz to appoint an internal committee of inquiry under former chief of staff Amnon Lipkin-Shahak, to examine the conduct of the defense establishment.
Among the concerns in the IDF was the fact that the committee aimed to investigate only the army, and not the political leadership. The officers argued that the decision-making process is intertwined and cannot be separated in this fashion.
Officers were also concerned that they will be called to give testimony and that, in the absence of immunity protection, their stature and position would be threatenned.
One of the motives behind Olmert's decision to seek the establishment of a government-appointed committee of investigation under a judge was to alleviate concerns of IDF officers regarding their ability to protect themselves.
Among those dissatisfied with the Winograd appointment are reservists who protested near his house on Tuesday calling on him to quit and not act the part of Olmert's lapdog.