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Eliyahu's requiem By Ari Shavit Tags: second lebanon war  A sad document, this Winograd Committee report. After midnight, as a heavy rain drenches the streets of Tel Aviv, I sit at the wood counter of my all-night cafe with the two blue-and-white volumes of the final reckoning. I won't sleep tonight, I know. The language is cold and sterile, the analysis minutely detailed, to the point of vexation. So dry, even verging on dull. But the reality described within is inconceivable. The reality described is of a state that has lost its way. All around me there's an excited bustle of activity. A bunch of young women are preparing to leave for a trance party at a club in the south of the city. The people coming in from the rain, dripping wet, warm themselves with chaser after chaser. A sudden barrage of hail spreads a white carpet over the new sidewalks that Mayor Ron Huldai had paved on Ibn Gvirol Street. And here, on page 543, it says that the failure to choose between two plausible models for Israeli action constituted a grave failing. And on page 545 it says that the prolonged dithering without any clear decision reflected a fundamental and serious failing. And on page 546 it says that the avoidance of preparation for a broad ground operation reflected a total lack of decision-making. And on page 547 it says that the absence of orderly discussion about certain developments was a blatant failing. And on page 548 it says that the actions and failures of the political echelon and military echelon created a double failure - for which supreme responsibility lies with the political echelon. And on page 549 it says that in the interface between the Israel Defense Forces top brass and the senior political echelon there was a systematic failure. And on page 558 it says that Israel had no comprehensive strategic political-security vision, and that this was also a failing. And on page 571 it says that the failures described in the interim report continued throughout the war. And on page 574 it says that Israel went to war of its own initiative without due consideration and without being prepared for it, and that a number of disturbing truths about shortcomings and debacles were consequently exposed. And on page 575 it says that the failures and faults were critical and that they were systemic, grave and have major significance for the future. Advertisement My cell phone vibrates: a friend, a doctor, who can't sleep either. He can't put down the report. What page are you on, he asks. And what page are you on? The more I read, says the doctor, the more I'm gripped with despair. It's a requiem, he says. In his cautious and measured language, retired judge Eliyahu Winograd has written a requiem. About a state that in the course of a month of combat can't decide how to wage the war. A state that doesn't hold a proper discussion about going to war, about the objectives of the war and about the manner in which it should be pursued. A state that alters the principles underlying its policy casually, without thought and without any appreciation for the significance of its actions and their implications. Such a state, says the doctor, is a state in critical condition. A state that is hanging on by a thread. It's already after 1 A.M., but the cell phone vibrates again: They're celebrating in Olmert's camp, since the way the report was presented in the media, Ehud Barak has no reason to rock the boat. The malcontents in Kadima have no cause to rebel. The report itself may indeed be harsh, but that's being neutralized by all the surrounding spin. So - it's business as usual. But forget usual: Business is better now than ever. A few hours after the judge left the national stage in Jerusalem, it was as if the whole Winograd thing never happened. As if the war never happened. Olmert survived once again, and so Olmert is king. But on the wood counter of the all-night cafe sits a tome containing the tough, spine- chilling words of the elderly judge. We found serious failings and shortcomings in the decision-making process, both in the political and the military echelons. We found serious failings and shortcomings in the absence of strategic thinking and planning. There was no orderly process of decision-making. There was faulty management by the political and military echelons. Israel did not make intelligent use of its power. The war was a great and grave missed opportunity. The responsibility for the basic failings lies at the doorstep of the political echelon. The fact that the committee refrained from assigning personal responsibility does not mean that there was none. We believe that responsibility - both the taking of personal responsibility for one's actions and holding others responsible when appropriate - is part of a proper, normative system, especially when people are acting on behalf of a society that entrusts it with critical decisions concerning its welfare and its very survival. Israel cannot survive without a (worthy) military leadership, military capabilities and a strong society. A sad book, this Winograd report. A sad book about a sad war. A sad book about a wretched nation that embarked on a wretched war that revealed just how wretched its existential situation really is. A sad book about a failed army and a failed administration and a failed government. A sad book about a rotten political and governmental culture. A sad book about a nation that is currently flying into a storm with an empty cockpit. But the story of the committee itself is also sad. The story of five dedicated and decent cynics from the old generation, appointed by a renowned veteran of interrogations to act as his interrogators. The story of five people of integrity who rebelled against the appointer-interrogatee and hurled the truth in his face. The story of five fine patriots who did an extremely probing and thorough job, but who nonetheless, in the end, still fell into the trap set by the clever man who appointed them. For what is the chance that in contemporary, jungle-like Israel, anyone will listen to their restrained and precise language? What is the chance that anyone will really comprehend their incisive statement? What is the chance that anyone will listen to their subdued cry? The impressive intellectual project of the Winograd Committee, which is of supreme national importance, will be pulverized and will melt away within hours. The spin giveth and the spin taketh away. Long live the spin. It's raining buckets outside. An oppressive, relentless rain. I remember that accursed summer. The summer of a million Israeli refugees. The summer of a bombarded, belittled and helpless Israel. The summer of an IDF stumbling around under a reckless leadership. I think about the unique opportunity that that accursed summer presented us with. The opportunity to fix things before major trouble occurs. The opportunity to pull ourselves together and to change. The opportunity to extricate ourselves from the webs of spin. And I fear that tonight this opportunity is dying. Israel is again choosing to delude itself. Israel is again choosing to deceive itself. Quiet in the North, peace within a year, unprecedented prosperity. Indeed, the Second Lebanon War ended tonight. But with a warning siren, not an all-clear signal. The Winograd warning signal that hardly anyone will hear. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Get a job The Interior Minister tells the ultra-Orthodox to find work and enlist in the IDF. Trapped in Gaza An Irish woman and her daughter are stuck in Gaza after Egypt seals the border.   1.   G-d help us. I fear Shavit is all too correct 12:21  |  Jewish State 01/02/08   2.   Army which persecutes own soldiers for doing their duty is bound 13:30  |  Absolute Sweden 01/02/08   3.   Shavit has it right 15:02  |  Randi 01/02/08   4.   Sick to my soul 15:03  |  Gideon Reader 01/02/08   5.   OLMERT NEEDS TO RESIGN OR BE FORCED OUT 19:04  |  Kipperraes 01/02/08   6.   OLMERT NEEDS TO RESIGN OR BE FORCED OUT 19:04  |  Kipperraes 01/02/08   7.   OLMERT IS A DISCRACE ALONG WITH KADIMA 19:13  |  THE WARRIOR 01/02/08   8.   Its Time For Iisraeli`s To Rise Up and Force Olmert Out Of Office 19:16  |  Shepherd 01/02/08   9.   CORRECTED: A solution for the Winograd Report 20:18  |  Imperator 01/02/08   10.   requiem 20:20  |  GPWS1 01/02/08   11.   #6,#7,#8,#9 Your all Correct 22:09  |  Dish this up 01/02/08   12.   in g-d we trust 23:02  |  AMIHAY 01/02/08   13.   Requiem 23:59  |  Mo 01/02/08   14.   The Golem Rises 06:57  |  Rachel 02/02/08   15.   translation of ציונים as "cynics." 10:58  |  Allan E. Shapiro 02/02/08   16.   Israels finest moment 14:39  |  Joseph 02/02/08

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