Doc's Talk: "Winograd"

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

"Winograd"

Arlene Kushner

January 30, 2008

"Winograd"

Today at 5 PM local time the five person Winograd Committee -- which was hand-picked by Olmert after the uproar following the war, as a compromise to demands for a state inquiry, and was not charged independently -- delivered its final report to Olmert and Barak. An hour later they came to Convention Hall (Binyanei Hauma) and retired Justice Eliyahu Winograd, who chaired the Committee, read the report for assembled journalists. In the briefest of summaries:

We didn't win the Second Lebanon War in the summer of 2006, which is regrettable because we missed an important opportunity and should have won. There were "serious failures and shortcomings in the decision-making processes and staff-work in the political and the military echelons and their interface."

A great deal of blame was placed on the military, But the political echelon, which projected weakness, was also at fault. It was highly unfortunate that the rocket fire from the north was not stopped, as we had military superiority. The ground offensive that was launched very shortly before the end of the war (the one in which 33 soldiers were lost) did not improve our military position. But the committee is convinced that the prime minister acted in what he thought was Israel's best interests.

The fact that no fingers were pointed in the report (by design) does not mean, says the report, that there are not individuals who are responsible.

The failures went beyond the conduct of the war itself and involved a lack of long term strategy.

Our failure to win conclusively had great impact on us and on our neighbors, and our allies.

Concluded Winograd, Israel "cannot survive in this region unless the people within it and outside it believe that it has political leadership, military capabilities and social strength that will enable it to prevent [its neighbors] from realizing their goals – even by force.
"Attempts to reach peace or an agreement must come from a place of military might and of ability and willingness to fight for the country, its values and residents. This has deep ramifications, well beyond the Second Lebanon War."

~~~~~~~~~~

There is no clear cut direction from this, and it's too soon to tell what the fallout will be. Members of Kadima are claiming vindication, members of right wing parties say that just as former defense minister Amir Peretz and former chief of staff Dan Halutz accepted responsibility for the failings of the war and resigned, so must Olmert now. Olmert is saying, quite clearly, that he will not. A great deal, I believe, will depend on how the electorate responds.

~~~~~~~~~~

My own immediate response is this. Whatever Winograd said about Olmert's sincerity of intent, and the responsibility of the military, this is what leaps out at me:

One of the things Winograd faults the political echelon with is projecting weakness. This absolutely cannot be minimized. See the concluding statement by Winograd that says Israel at all levels must convey strength to survive -- it's clear the Committee also believes this is critical.

This, then, must be taken to heart with regard to how Olmert conducts the affairs of government now. He is doing us irreparable harm by making statements about he'll do whatever he has to reach an agreement with Abbas, by conducting himself in a way that allows citizens of Sderot to remain at risk, and by refusing to order that necessary ground operation into Gaza. He is projecting weakness. This is lethal for us and cannot continue. He must go.

Undoubtedly, I will return to this subject many times. But I would like to leave it now.

~~~~~~~~~~

Yesterday I spoke about a phony photo of Palestinians in Gaza working by candlelight when it was really daytime. I was unable to reproduce the photo I had. And so now I would like to thank Doris Montrose, who sent me a link to a blog that provides several such pictures and discussion. Some of these blogs are great for exposing the frauds.

See: http://www.israelforum.com/blog_article.php?aid=1233817

~~~~~~~~~~

According to YNet there has been good progress in communication between Egyptian security personnel and Amos Gilad, head of the Defense Ministry's political security department. Reportedly, there are 25,000 to 30,000 Palestinians remaining in Egypt, and they are supposed to be pushed back to Gaza by next week.

Meanwhile Israel National News has reported that Gazans have spent $250 million in Egypt, and by the weekend are expected to have made purchases totaling $480 million. Since there were 700,000 Arabs from Gaza in Egypt, that comes to an average of almost $670 person, if these figures are correct. $670 represents a whole lot more for Gazans than for Israelis or Americans. It's big money. So, the question is where this came from if they're so poverty stricken.

What is more, according to this report, a bulk of the money was spent on building materials. This is NOT what people buy when they are starving.

~~~~~~~~~~

The High Court has made a significant ruling. I wrote a couple of days ago about a petition to the court by left wing human rights organizations that demanded that the crossings to Gaza be opened. The court had issued a preliminary ruling that humanitarian aid had to go through. But now we have the complete ruling:

Israel has had no effective control over the Gaza Strip since September 2005, and that therefore "it is not obligated to care for the welfare of the Strip's residents or allow the transfer of unlimited amounts of goods and commodities." However, Israel is obliged "to allow the supply of essential humanitarian aid."

What is more, Israel's actions are in conjunction with local and international law: "In times of war, the civilian population is… the first and most prominent victim of the fighting, even when efforts to reduce the harm done to it are carried out."

Gaza, said the court, was controlled by a murderous terrorist organization, which was tirelessly working against the State of Israel and its citizens, while breaking every possible rule of international law in its violent actions, "which indiscriminately target civilians – men, women and children."

~~~~~~~~~~

Now Daniel Pipes, director of the Middle East Forum, is proposing that Egypt absorb Gaza (which it controlled from 1949 to 1967). Gazans, says Pipes, speak a colloquial Arabic that is identical to the Arabic of the Sinai, and have more family ties in Egypt than in the West Bank. He cites journalist David Warren, who said calling Gazans "Palestinians" is less accurate than politically correct.

This, suggests Pipes, would end the rocket fire and expose the superficiality of Palestinian nationalism.

"It's hard to divine what benefit American taxpayers have received for the US$65-billion they have lavished on Egypt since 1948; but Egypt's absorbing Gaza might justify their continuing to shell out US$1.8-billion a year."

Sounds good to me.

~~~~~~~~~~

The UN Security Council has given up efforts to formulate a statement condemning Israel for the situation in Gaza. Libya, which is chairing the Council this month, decided to give up its call for condemnation of Israel, following a battle waged by Israel, backed by the US.

~~~~~~~~~~

I wrote the other day about concerns that the multinational force of 1,800 in Sinai would be threatened by the Gazans. But apparently that never happened, they have not withdrawn, and they are proceeding normally.

~~~~~~~~~~

Victor Davis Hanson writes some marvelously insightful pieces. I would like to close here by recommending an article of his, "A Modest Proposal for Middle East Peace." Quite simply, he puts what's going on here into an international perspective.

http://article.nationalreview.com/print/?q=NWM2ZjY3YjNkMTA3ZDY4Mjg1OWY3OTUyNzcyYTc3NmU

No comments:

The IDF’s Minorities in Numbers and Pictures

In honor of IDF Diversity Week, we present diversity through numbers and pictures. Each year, more and more Muslims, Christians, Druze, Bedouin and immigrants from around the world take on the responsibility of defending Israel.

MUSLIMS:

Muslim Arab Israelis are not required to draft in the IDF, but there are many who volunteer. In 2013, there were over 200 Muslims serving in the IDF and over 300 in the reserves.

Bedouins:

Bedouins are nomadic Muslims who were in Israel when modern borders were set in place and are now considered Israeli citizens. They are not required to draft but a growing number choose to enlist. In 2012, there were over 1,400 Bedouin Muslim soldiers doing regular IDF service and almost 1,500 in the reserves.

Read more:http://www.idfblog.com/2014/02/27/truth-idf-numbers-pictures/#more-34027

Are you aware that in 2013, Middle class taxes go up-significantly?

In January of next year, the federal income tax rate for middle-class taxpayers is scheduled to rise from 25 percent to 28 percent, and the payroll tax is scheduled to rise from 13.3 percent to 15.3 percent… This drives the marginal tax rate based on the aforementioned three taxes to 48.12 percent. Add in state and local property, corporate, excise, and other state and local taxes, and the percentage of each additional dollar that is taxed hovers around 50 percent… When half of each additional dollar earned is taxed away, taxpayers experience a disincentive to start businesses or expand existing ones. This leads to fewer jobs being created.

Why is HAMAS Inside Tampa Schools?

Clare Lopez

Kelly Miliziano, who teaches history classes at Steinbrenner High School in the Tampa, Florida area apparently thinks it’s perfectly OK to invite a senior official of a HAMAS-affiliated organization into her classroom to discuss Islam with her students. According to local media reports, not only has this been going on for years, but in spite of the civil and criminal proceedings that could result from such reckless negligence, the Hillsborough County school superintendent, Mary Ellen Elia, and the chairman of the school board, Candy Olson, also expressed approval for students under their responsibility to be exposed repeatedly to guest speaker, Hassan Shibly, who is the Executive Director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in the Tampa area.
More...

Did You Know... Ignoring the Call to Islam will Bring Jihad

‘Conquest through Da’wa [proselytizing] that is what we hope for. We will conquer Europe, we will conquer America! Not through sword but through Da’wa.’
-- Yousef al-Qaradawi , Muslim Brotherhood spiritual leader The Arabic word ‘Da’wa’ means the “call to Islam.” But do not think that Da’wa is the same thing as an invitation to an optional holiday event. The classical Islamic doctrine of jihad mandates that enemies must be given the opportunity to convert to Islam or pay the jizya tax before it is permissible to attack them.
Clare M. Lopez

Who is being discriminated-facts tell the truth

Religious bias

Hate crimes motivated by religious bias accounted for 1,409 offenses reported by law enforcement. A breakdown of the bias motivation of religious-bias offenses showed:

65.4 percent were anti-Jewish.
13.2 percent were anti-Islamic.
9.5 percent were anti-other religion, i.e., those not specified.
4.3 percent were anti-Catholic.
3.8 percent were anti-multiple religions, group.
3.3 percent were anti-Protestant.
0.5 percent were anti-Atheism/Agnosticism/etc.

http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/hate-crime/2010/narratives/hate-crime-2010-incidents-and-offenses.

On March 31, 1977, the Dutch newspaper Trouw published an interview

with PLO executive committee member Zahir Muhsein. Here's what he said:

"The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct "Palestinian people" to oppose Zionism.

For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan."

In March 1977, Zahir Muhsein, a PLO executive, said:

"The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct Palestinian people to oppose Zionism."

"For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan."

The Arab Apartheid

Ben-Dror Yemini
In 1948, the Arab countries refused to accept the UN partition proposal and they launched a war of annihilation against the State of Israel which had barely been established. All precedents in this matter showed that the party that starts the war - and with a declaration of annihilation, yet - pays a price for it. Between 550,000 and 710,000 Arabs fled because of the war and a larger number of 850,000 Jews were expelled or fled from Arab countries (the "Jewish nakba").
Population exchanges and expulsions were the norm at that time, occurring in dozens of other conflict points and affecting about 52 million people. In all the population exchange precedents that occurred during or at the end of an armed conflict, there was no return of refugees to the previous region, which had turned into a new national state.
Only the Arab states acted completely differently from the rest of the world. Instead of assimilating the refugees, they crushed them despite the fact that they were their coreligionists and members of the Arab nation - instituting a regime of apartheid. So the "nakba" was not caused by the actual dispossession, which had also been experienced by tens of millions of others. The "nakba" is the story of the apartheid, oppression, abuse and denial of rights suffered by the Arab refugees at the hands of the Arab countries. (Maariv)

International Law and Military Operations in Practice - Col. Richard Kemp

"Islamist fighting groups study the international laws of armed conflict carefully and they understand it well. They know that a British or Israeli commander and his men are bound by international law and the rules of engagement that flow from it. They then do their utmost to exploit what they view as one of their enemy's main weaknesses. Their very modus operandi is built on the correct assumption that Western armies will normally abide by the rules, while these insurgents employ a deliberate policy of operating consistently outside international law. "

Lost Historical Moments

What Rabin’s last Knesset speech really said:repudiation of a Palestinian state

Rabin ruled out a fully sovereign Palestinian state :

“We view the permanent solution in the framework of State of Israel which will include most of the area of the Land of Israel as it was under the rule of the British Mandate, and alongside it a Palestinian entity which will be a home to most of the Palestinian residents living in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. We would like this to be an entity which is less than a state, and which will independently run the lives of the Palestinians under its authority.”

Rabin ruled out a total withdrawal from Judea and Samaria and thus a return to the pre-June 1967 borders :

“The borders of the State of Israel, during the permanent solution, will be beyond the lines which existed before the Six Day War. We will not return to the 4 June 1967 lines.”

Rabin ruled out withdrawing form the Jordan Valley:

“The security border of the State of Israel will be located in the Jordan Valley, in the broadest meaning of that term.”

Rabin ruled out uprooting settlement blocs, like the Gush Katif bloc in Gaza (which was subsequently uprooted by former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon):

“The establishment of blocs of settlements in Judea and Samaria, like the one in Gush Katif.

AND

Rabin ruled out removing any settlement before coming to a full peace agreement with the Palestinians:

“I want to remind you: we committed ourselves, that is, we came to an agreement, and committed ourselves before the Knesset, not to uproot a single settlement in the framework of the interim agreement, and not to hinder building for natural growth.”

Rabin insisted on Israel retaining full security control of the borders with Egypt and Jordan, contrary to Israel’s relinquishment of the Philadelphia Corridor on the border with Egypt:

“The responsibility for external security along the borders with Egypt and Jordan, as well as control over the airspace above all of the territories and Gaza Strip maritime zone, remains in our hands.”

Correcting Oslo Myths-Part 2

3) Kuttab laments that the post-1993 Oslo process resulted in a Palestinian Authority "whose ministers and legislators are not guaranteed passage between Gaza and the West Bank ...."

Before free passage or other perquisites, PA leaders were obligated, among other things, to eliminate the terrorist infrastructure in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, end anti-Israeli, antisemitic incitement in schools, mosques, and communications media, and resolve all outstanding issues through peaceful negotiations. They met none of these commitments, sometimes bolstering terrorism and greatly increasing incitement.

4) Kuttab complains that under Oslo the PA got "lightly armed police ---- but no real sovereignty over the land or contiguity between our communities in Gaza and the West Bank."

Oslo agreements repeatedly were revised, regardless of Palestinian non-compliance, until the authorized number of police grew from 8,000 to 40,000. Though they were to be the only armed forces in the territories, Israeli estimates early in the second intifada put the number of gunmen - police, "security services," terrorists, and armed gangs - at 85,000. Their armament reportedly included not only heavy machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades, but also anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles.

Sovereignty was to be negotiated in the envisioned 1998 "final status" talks - after a five-year period of confidence-building. Palestinian leadership chronically undermined the process. Palestinian terrorism made the 1993 - 1998 Oslo period more deadly for Israelis than the 15 years preceding it.

The United States doesn't have contiguity between the lower 48 states and Alaska and Hawaii; territorial contiguity between the West Bank and Gaza Strip - that is, through the 20 miles of Israeli territory between them - was never promised and would destroy Israeli contiguity.

5) "Palestinians have been made to endure hundreds of checkpoints in the West Bank, an eight-foot wall deep in our territories, and tight Israeli control over borders."

The security barrier is not "deep in Palestinian territories," but rather encompasses less than 8 percent of Judea and Samaria, and is mostly a fence, rarely a wall; the land in question is not "our [Palestinian] territories" but disputed territory to which, according to the authors of U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, Jews as well as Arabs have claims; and there are no international borders, only the 1949 armistice lines with Jordan. Under 242, borders remain to be negotiated. As for checkpoints - like the security barrier and "tight Israeli control" - Palestinian Arabs precipitated these measures themselves. No terrorism and there would be no fence or tight Israeli control and few checkpoints - like before the first intifada.

Correcting Some Oslo Myths

1) In Oslo "Israeli, Palestinian and other world leaders promised that ... Palestinian sovereignty would be solidified."

No, they didn't. The 1993 Declaration of Principles and subsequent Oslo agreements outlined a process by which final status negotiations about the West Bank and Gaza Strip would be reached. The process required an end to anti-Israel terrorism and incitement and a commitment to peaceful negotiations. The PA, Fatah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and other terrorist groups, sabotaged the process from the start.

2) "The reality is that, in defiance of U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, which states that it is inadmissible to occupy land by force, Palestinian territories are still under foreign military occupation."
Wrong again. Resolution 242 (1967) does note "the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war." It also affirms the right of every state in the area "to live in peace with secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force." There were no "Palestinian territories." Jordan occupied the West Bank, Egypt controlled Gaza. Israel did not have "secure and recognized boundaries," so retention of some of those territories was possible under 242. Israel is not a "foreign" military occupier in the West Bank but, pending final negotiations, the lawful military administrator as a result of a successful war of self-defense.

Doc's Talk