The commission, headed by retired Supreme Court judge Eliyahu Winograd, has just published its interim report. Its criticism of Olmert, Defense Minister Amir Peretz, and Chief-of-Staff Dan Halutz - set forth in a detailed and meticulous 117-page assessment - is harsh, but not surprising. The Winograd Commission articulated what most Israelis already think: Olmert and Peretz lacked the military, security, and policy experience to confront a terrorist organization that raided Israeli territory, killed a number of soldiers and kidnapped two, and then launched thousands of rockets on civilian targets for over a month.
Indeed, the inexperience of the prime minister and the defense minister are unprecedented in Israel's history. Olmert, who stepped into Ariel Sharon's shoes as leader of the new Kadima Party, was considered a competent but lackluster parliamentarian - and later mayor of Jerusalem - who was known more for his polemical style than for his political stature or gravitas.
