Looking for this war's fig leaf

Amnon Lipkin Shahak is a good man, experienced in warfare, reliable and noble. Amir Peretz would have done well had he volunteered to relinquish the defense minister's post and assign it to Lipkin Shahak. The public would have been grateful and the army would have saluted him.

This idea, however, did not occur to Peretz. Instead he resorted to a method frequently practiced in times of crisis: Finding a revered senior citizen, Lipkin Shahak, for example, appointing him to evaluate the handling of the second war in Lebanon, and hoping that by the time the probe is concluded the pressure will have subsided. Public relations advisors often recommend such action.

Too many unanswered questions

However, the opposite usually happens: The appointment accelerates the pressure. Even before a single answer is provided, the agenda becomes inundated with questions:

If the decision to launch a probe has been made, then why is it not a commission of inquiry; and why was this particular person appointed; who will investigate the defense minister, the prime minister and the entire cabinet for that matter; and how will the cautionary letters be dispatched; and what will the attorneys do; how will the internal investigation within the IDF be conducted, will it be frozen; and what will be the fate of those investigated, will they carry out their duties as normal or will they become involved in their investigations day and night?

Two paths

Ultimately, the appointment will take one of two of the following paths: Either the cabinet will get cold feet, get rid of the investigator and agree to a state appointed commission of inquiry (that's how the Or Committee during Ehud Barak's reign was established), or will the investigation be forgotten and its recommendations buried (that's what happened in several investigations carried out by Major General Vardi).

Amnon Lipkin Shahak is a good man, however he cannot solve Amir Peretz' problem. Firstly, because if the war's failures are to be seriously probed the defense minister's role cannot be ignored. A person under investigation cannot appoint the person investigating. Moreover, during the war Peretz mentioned Lipkin Shahak's name as one of his advisors. It's difficult to fathom how the investigator is supposed investigate himself.

Terrible idea

The war has presented many unanswered questions pertaining to the IDF and the political echelons. However, there is one issue that enjoys overwhelming consensus: the appointment of Amir Peretz to the post of defense minister was a terrible idea.

The original sin, however, was Olmert's ambitions to keep the treasury in his own hands. He mistakenly thought that if Finance Minister Avraham Hirchson, his loyal colleague, were appointed, the treasury would be secure in his pocket. Because he didn't want to give Peretz the finance ministry, and didn't dare give him the foreign ministry, the defense ministry remained the only option.

The war messed everything up. Overnight Peretz became the speaker of the general staff headquarters. He didn't understand the language, didn't grasp the limitations of his newly gained power, made baseless threats to the enemy and enthusiastically supported every war plan proposed by the IDF.

Ehud Olmert should be held solely accountable for the political echelon's mishaps – including the mishap called Amir Peretz.

Amnon Lipkin Shahak is a good man, and therefore it is a pity he has taken this assignment upon himself. With his stature, his seniority and his contribution to state security, he deserves more than to serve as a fig leaf.