Livni - Teams of experts will examine readiness for crisis situations
Photo: Reuters
Livni: Winograd report reflects grave state of Israel's leadership
Foreign minister thanks ministry servicemen for their 'arduous efforts' during war, says that while Winograd praised wartime diplomatic achievements – final report still paints harsh picture. 'No doubt our work has prompted the understanding that Israel's toolbox is not only filled with military options,' says Livni
Unlike her reaction to the interim report, Foreign Affairs Minister Tzipi Livni toed the party line and lay low following the release of the Winograd Commission's final report. But though she did not call for Prime
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Minister Ehud Olmert's resignation, choosing instead to stand by him and urge unity among Kadima's ranks – within her own ministry Livni minced no words in describing the severity of the report.
In a written statement to all Foreign Ministry employees in Israel and abroad, addressing both Winograd and the Second Lebanon War, Livni refrained from resting on the laurels awarded to the foreign service by the commission.
"The fact that UN Resolution 1701 was presented as an achievement does not make the Winograd report any less grave. The report raises a mirror to Israel's leadership, and the reflection is very serious," the minister wrote.
"Nonetheless, I have seen fit to thank the ministry's employees for their arduous efforts during the war, which helped consolidate the UN resolution… work which was noted favorably in the report."
"Recognition is due to all those in Israel's foreign service, at home and abroad, who contributed, each in his own field, to the translation of a political idea into reality. Alongside the difficult feelings the war left in all of us, I hope each and every one of you feels they contributed to the work. I have no doubts that our strenuous and worthy work helped change the decision marking process and Israel and prompted the understanding that Israel's toolbox is not only filled with military options."
The minister detailed her 'Vision for the Future,' and said expert teams would be created to examine the ministry's preparedness for emergency situations, including public relations efforts.
"The Foreign Ministry is not just here to explain the military operations," wrote Livni, it must initiate, work together and translate the reality into processes that serve Israel's national interests.
