Israel's Leadership Plays Up War Achievements
Ryan R. Jones - All Headline News Middle East Correspondent Jerusalem, Israel (AHN) - While most of the public is demanding its removal from power, Israel's political leadership this week attempted to spin a positive view of the outcome of the recent war against Hezbollah. When war broke out on July 12 following a Hezbollah assault on northern Israel, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert declared his nation would press the battle until two abducted soldiers were returned and Hezbollah ceased to exist as a fighting force capable of threatening the Jewish state. Those goals were not met by the time a UN-imposed ceasefire went into effect on August 14, but on Sunday Olmert stressed the equally important achievements of bringing the Lebanese army and additional foreign peacekeepers into southern Lebanon and having the international community enforce an arms embargo on Hezbollah. Olmert also claimed that UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan had granted permission to the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) to forcibly disarm Hezbollah. Annan has repeatedly stated that UNIFIL will not be tasked with such a mission. Speaking proudly at Sunday's weekly Cabinet meeting, Ynet quoted Olmert as saying, "If someone would have told me a month and a half ago that" Israel would achieve all of these things, "I would have said he was dreaming and that he shouldn't try to set unrealistic objectives." A day later Defense Minister Amir Peretz told |
