He's not a minister without profile, but with a very bad one.....

If Barak doesn't get what he wants, Olmert will be replaced by next week.

but with all of his downfalls, he is brirliiant, a great tactician, and startegist, and with his great vision , can do alot of good for israel's defense. keep in mind that even rabin ,zl, had many setback but still was a great leader!

Barak ,the lap dog who will do whatever his master on the Potomac tells him to do. Are there any ture Israeli leaders who serve Israel first left ? are there any anywhere ?

barak isa good choice bad choice to let stay peretz in goverment give him a job in the knesset guard

Well said. A Minister without a profile subsequently cannot be entrusted a portfolio. He will settle on ministerial salary and privileges. As for Ehud Barak - he considers himself the Savior of the nation. And the Knesset seems to agree in chorus. Our brave Avigdor Lieberman, our righteous Eliyahu Yishai - usually so opposite in their views - now found common points. But what about the people of Israel? Does anybody care to know what do they think?

It is gratifying to see that the Israeli government is coming to its senses by naming a person that understands the proper use of the IDF. Yes he made some mistakes during his tenure as Prime Minister, as a loyal citizen I am certain he will use his mistakes as a learning curve and thus not repeat them, since he is able to see the results of such mistakes. I just hope Olmart does not interfere with him for political reasons I hope that this appointment will give pause to the terrorists that the days of free reign to commit acts of terror against Israel are over

He managed to create a powerful Hezbollah front to the north by creating a power vacuum there. And that's just one of his miserable mistakes. Bottom line: strategic incompetence remains, with the difference that parrots (correctly) knew he knew nothing about military strategy; Barak thinks he DOES know something about it. Stupid Israelis.

Great tactician and strategist? I doubt it and I sincerely hope that he is not the best Israel has to offer.

It's shocking that the streets of Israel are not flowing with vomit. But it's not surprising given Israelis have simply reverted back to the shtetl Jew of old. This government is made up of opportunists whose defense of Israel is barely secondary to their own personal power agendas. Expect some "tough" moves by Barak to bolster his standing with the voters ahead of general elections. Likud is acting like wooses by not battering away at the government. Meanwhile, Israel is spiraling into the whirlpool set in motion by the ayatollahs. If a TRUE Jewish leader does not emerge in the near future, Israel will have to face the Iranian version of the Final Solution; a well coordinated 7-pronged plan of attack: -Hamas missiles and land attack -Hizbollah missile attack -West bank uprising -Syrian missile attack -Israeli Arab uprising -Iran missile attack (nuclear preferred) -Broad International condemnations of Israel The ONLY solution requires balls that are completely missing from the Israeli equation.; An offensive the likes of which the enemy has never seen or would possibly expect including extremely high death toll numbers on both sides. Regardless, these numbers will occur no matter what. But as Israel learned and forgot from the Six Day War, preemptive action is the only way out of this mess. Enjoy the “new & improved” sickening cabinet stew.

Israel is indeed heading to a 7-pronged attack. Well, make that an 8-pronged attack, as Egypt may well become involved--its whole military has been built with Israel in mind. It would come in later if Israel were thrown into sufficient disarray.

He is a good tactician, a terrible strategist.

israelis have short memories. everyone has forgotten the mistakes this man made when he was in power. we need new people to be leaders - not re-cycled ones.

hehehehe after the israelies got defeated against hezbullah last summer. the israelie people ellects the former pm who pulled out the idf from the south and backstabbed his allies their. heheheh this is going to be something really exiting to see and while u're at pulling out and getting beaten plz get out of shebaa and thk u israelies u proved it to us again and again that u r god dumbest people.

To Mira: Remember, Israel is not Russia. It cannot just threaten to target Europe, without so much as a wimper. I would not dismiss the US so quickly. Israel needs at least one powerful friend on this planet, other than a few million Diaspora Jews, whose major contribution is charity and bond purchases. Israel receives 2b/year to purchase state of the art F15s, and F16s and Abrams tanks., without which it's security would be less. The US supports Fatah in the latest struggle. Barak, Olmert, and your leadership need the US, more than the reverse. Don't cut your nose to spite your face. Who can you depend on, Micronesia? This is the fact of Israel's life. Don't kid yourself. I am a Zionist for years..and want Israel to thrive and survive. It needs friends, and sometimes have to compromise against it's better instincts. Frankly, Israel is located in an awful part of the world., with unenviable problems. Barak, however, should not make policy..(see Camp David fiasco). He should run the military. Olmert makes policy. If you don't like him, vote him out of office..and stop the whining. But consider the alternatives first. Bibi had his chance and blew it.

But then again who isn't better than Peretz. I think Barak was an amazing soldier and has the potential to be good as DM...if he leaves his politics out of it.

Out where a true friend is a friend Yippie O I A We gonna eat hay? bar-ak in the saddle agin

Abbott: Alright, now whaddya want? Costello: Now look, I'm the head of the sports department. I gotta know the baseball players' names. Do you know the guys' names? Abbott: Oh sure. Costello: So you go ahead and tell me some of their names. Abbott: Well, I'll introduce you to the boys. You know sometimes nowadays they give ballplayers peculiar names. Costello: You mean funny names. Abbott: Nicknames, pet names, like Dizzy Dean - Costello: His brother Daffy - Abbott: Daffy Dean - Costello: And their cousin! Abbott: Who's that? Costello: Goofy!

that amateur Peretz . Who made Peretz a DEFENCE minister. It is a disgrace that in these days of such danger a Strike Organiser and a trade Unionist was made a minister of DEFENCE .Who says you dont need to have a military background to be a minister of DEFENCE .I bet you neither can strip and re assemble a rifle.They are good Madrichim for Boy Scouts .(do they know how to make a campfire or tie knots Would Dayan have jumped into Lebanon without full research Remember he took weeks before 6 day war Blair&.Bush told Olmert to jump and they jumped into Leb without any preparation. Now Arabs think one small push and IL is finished .

Halutz - resigned Peretz - dumped by his own party ... Olmert - pending