Olmert and his subordinates have handsomely earned their dismal ratings – let us hope that they now get the message and make way for new and responsible leadership to take over
Polls out just this week show that 77 percent of Israelis are dissatisfied with Ehud Olmert’s performance as Prime Minister. In common with President Bush, Olmart’s approval ratings have suffered terribly because of a botched war.
I take the view that both the US invasion of Iraq and the Israeli war in Lebanon were morally justified at the outset. However, last summer’s war in Lebanon became morally indefensible because of the way it was carried out. And this may well end up becoming true of the war in Iraq as well.
The Hebrew Bible is replete with stories about wars and from those stories the Talmud deduces laws for wars. Amongst these laws is the obligation for a king or government to seek peace before declaring war. However, there is also the law which states that if a soldier begins to doubt the war he is fighting and develops fears which prevent him from fighting for victory with all his heart and soul then the blood of all those killed becomes his responsibility.
Biblical law, which is our moral compass, is clear: war is the final resort. However, once it is entered into, those involved may not begin to doubt it or its objectives and it must be won at all costs. If because of a lack of purpose and dedication the objectives of the war are not accomplished, the blood of all those killed lies at the hands of those who did not fight with valiance.
Now if this is true for the soldiers actually fighting in the war, it is certainly true with regards the commanders and leaders who send them into battle. The war in Lebanon was launched in order to recover the soldiers who were kidnapped by Hezbollah terrorists. In fact Olmert said during the first week of the war that the operation would go on until the two captured Israeli soldiers are freed, Hezbollah is disarmed and the Lebanese army controls the south.
These were clearly the objectives of the war yet at least two out of three of them were not achieved at the time of the ceasefire. In fact the soldiers are still in captivity and Hezbollah is still a strong military force in Lebanon and continues to be supported by Syria and Iran.
There is little doubt that the Israel Defense Force could have achieved its objectives against Hezbollah. Clearly, however, the leadership of the Lebanon war was not determined enough and it was therefore not fought with the vigor needed to achieve its stated aims. Because of this the lives of the 1400 people killed in the war were taken for no reason thus making it, post-facto a morally indefensible war.
Little wonder that according to the poll taken by the Dahaf Institute this week, 77 percent of Israelis are dissatisfied with Olmert’s performance as prime minister. It is also not surprising that the parents of the soldiers who died in this war are calling for resignations. Soldiers were killed in a war which, due to incompetence and a lack of leadership, did not achieve its stated objectives and there is therefore a legitimate feeling that they died in vain.
Unfortunately many in the United States want to take a similar course with regard Iraq. As the going gets tougher many voices are calling for a military pull out in Iraq. If coalition forces leave Iraq without having made it a safer place which is no longer a threat to its neighbours and the world then history will rightly see the Iraq war as a morally indefensible killing spree on behalf of the United States and her allies.
We learn from the Torah that war must always be last resort; however once it starts it is not to be fought by the faint of heart. Leaders who fight wars half heartedly and therefore do not achieve their aims are inconsiderate of human life and should be run out of office. Clearly Olmert and his subordinates have handsomely earned their dismal ratings – let us hope that they now get the message and make way for new and responsible leadership to take over.