Whatever the new governmental procedures are, the results are not impressive. The Syrian operation may not have been needed, and in any case the IAEA should have been told either before or right after the operation, so that the nature of the facility would be discovered for certain and Syria be punished with international sanctions if it had been found to be nuclear. I don`t believe that attacks of this kind which undermine the international order should be kept secret. Bush has learned some lesson about unsubstantiated suspicions, and Israel should stay away from such acts.
The Israeli Gaza policy was wrong headed, and still is. It attempts to ignore a genuine force (Hamas) within Palestinian society instead of incorporating it into the political process and thus moderating it. Instead, Israel chose the tactic of siege which would not have produced the desired result, toppling Hamas, even if Hamas would not have breached the wall. (Arab masses do not overthrow their rulers.)
What is the common denominator of these failures? It is the thinking as a Bully, not as diplomat and statesman. General Barak is of course concerned about security, and rightly so. But what about dealing with Hamas more diplomatically? This has nothing to do with security but with bullyism. And Olmert is the same incompetent statesman that he was in Lebanon. We need better civilian minds in the Israeli government. |
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