1 December 2008
By Haaretz Editorial
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert justifiably expects the Israeli public to rally around the Israel Defense Forces operation in the Gaza Strip and the rocket-ravaged residents of the south to remain steadfast. But Olmert should make the same demands on himself and his partners at the helm of the state.
A well-publicized disagreement between Olmert, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni began in the weeks before Operation Cast Lead and has grown since the fighting began last Saturday. At the center of the disagreement are allegations of the exposure of operational secrets and abuse of authority, as well as arguments over the public credit for what initially appeared to be a military success.
Olmert, Barak and Livni are politicians, and as such they cannot be expected to ignore their feelings and aspirations. Barak and Livni are also the leaders of parties that are competing in an election campaign and fighting over the same electorate. Their personal-political rivalry is understandable. Olmert is not a candidate himself, but he has a long, still-open account with his two senior ministers. Barak led to his being forced to resign, and Livni attacked him and then succeeded him as the head of Kadima. AdvertisementNearing the end of his time in office, Olmert is also fighting to save his honor and his image from the fatal wounds they sustained from his poor management of the Second Lebanon War.
That is the background to the personal conflict at the top, which has also turned into a policy dispute. Barak championed the cease-fire agreement with Hamas and argued in favor of waiting, and establishing internal and external legitimacy for a military operation before launching it. Livni pushed for harsh military responses to rockets fired from Gaza and called for bringing down the Hamas government there. Olmert hesitated until he was persuaded that military action was necessary, and then won Barak over to his side.
The moment the decision to launch the operation was made, the members of this troika should have put their personal rivalries on the back burner, together with the election campaign, to focus on pursuing the war and obtaining a good cease-fire agreement.
Unfortunately, this did not happen. Instead of demonstrating solidarity and perseverance, Olmert, Livni and Barak are busy polishing their images in the media.
This situation reached its peak with the proposal by French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner for a 48-hour "humanitarian pause" in the fighting. The role reversal was peculiar but understandable in terms of their election platforms: Barak conducted the talks and expressed support for the idea, while Livni joined Olmert in shooting it down. As if that were not enough, Olmert also made a point of publicizing his "reprimand" of Barak for his conversation with Kouchner.
Discussions and disagreements are permissible and appropriate even during wartime, and there is no need to stifle them for the duration, but political considerations and personal arguments must not take a leading role in the decision to go to war and jeopardize the lives of soldiers and civilians. The people whose homes are under fire and the soldiers who could be ordered to invade the Gaza Strip must know that the risk they are taking is for a national goal, and that they are not pawns on some political chessboard.
