Dr. Aaron Lerner is co-founder of IMRA, Independent Media Review and Analysis, an Israel-based news organization which provides an extensive digest of media, polls and significant interviews and events relating to the Israeli-Arab conflict. imra@netvision.net.il
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's supporters cite the bombing of the Syrian facility on September 6 as proof that Olmert has learned from the fiasco in the Second Lebanon War.
Unfortunately, this is hardly the case.
The problem is that the operation in Syria is the exception - not the rule.
The operation shows what Israel can do when it recognizes a serious problem, prepares and then executes a plan to address it.
And in a timely fashion.
But Olmert hasn't done this for any of Israel's other many problems and challenges.
The Olmert team has at best a vague notion of what it actually expects or wants from the Palestinians vis-a-vis the roadmap.
The underpinnings of Olmert's final status talks philosophy are no deeper than the mutterings one hears at a dinner party attended by like minded withdrawal supporters. That's "like minded" because much of it would not survive a reasonable discussion in which contrasting views were also considered.
To make matters worse, Mr. Olmert's remarks serve to seriously devalue Israel's "bargaining chips" by presenting Israeli withdrawals as a gain rather than sacrifice and this while arguing that Israel essentially has no choice but to accept a final status deal at any price.
The Olmert team hasn't done any better in its mishandling of the smuggling into Gaza from Egypt where it has participated in a time consuming wild goose chase after a technological solution to the problem instead of proposing and pushing for a workable expeditious solution.
The same can be said for the Gaza Strip situation in general. Yes, the IDF and intelligence services have had some successes with targeted killing.
But the Olmert team has yet to even make clear what its minimum demands are for the area, with leading members seeming to indicate that a Palestinian cease fire that is accompanied by continued weapons smuggling and rocket construction would be acceptable and not acceptable in the same breath.
The Olmert team's failures extend far beyond the Arab-Israeli conflict.
On the education front we have the high school strike that was resolved only after doing incredible damage to the students - including 12th graders slated to be drafted this summer, while Israel's university students may very well lose the entire year.
And the list goes on.
The nation can ill afford another year of the same.
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