Israel's Lebanon War Probe Gets Off To Shaky Start
Ryan R. Jones - All Headline News Middle East Correspondent Jerusalem (AHN) - The Winograd Commission established to investigate Israel's performance during the recent war with Hezbollah began its work Thursday by conducting an informal background interview with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. That elicited a furious response from Israel Defense Forces reservists who are protesting the leadership's handling of the conflict. The members of the "Winograd Commission ... are acting like subordinates to the prime minister and not like his investigators," read a statement issued by the reservists. It continued by noting that "the public understands that it can't be that the government appoints a body that is supposed to investigate it. The public demands a state commission of inquiry that will be appointed by the Supreme Court and not a cover-up commission." Lawmakers from the opposition Likud Party also blasted what was described by one government official as a "conversation over a cup of coffee," when the public is demanding a serious investigation into possible negligence in the government's decision-making process. Knesset Member Gilad Erdan told Ynet: "The fact that the Winograd Commission decided immediately upon starting its activities to first listen to he who chose them and says to the media that he is satisfied with the results of the war instead of interviewing those whose criticism instigated the establishment |
