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Israel Appoints Commission of Inquiry Into Lebanon War
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?r=279&ctl=14034D8:A6F02AD83191E16009031AD706A4D26C9574F7DCC14957C0 Decision follows
stormy debate over who should take responsibility for campaign widely
seen as failure Israel has decided to conduct an official
investigation into the war in Lebanon, where





Israeli PM Ehud Olmert, center, speaks as Cabinet Secretary Yisrael
Maimon, right, and Transport Minister Shaul Mofaz look on at weekly
cabinet meeting, September 17, 2006the army battled Islamic Hezbollah
guerrillas for 34 days.  The decision follows a stormy debate over who
should take responsibility for a campaign that was widely seen as a
failure.

The Israeli Cabinet appointed a commission of inquiry, in the wake of
fierce public criticism of the way the government and army handled the
war in Lebanon. From reservists to politicians to ordinary people,
Israelis are asking why the Israel Defense Forces, or IDF, failed to
defeat Hezbollah.

"We lost, and we lost against a group of some four-thousand Hezbollah
fighters. The IDF, which is a mighty and efficient, and very good army
- we lost," said Former Defense Minister Moshe Arens.

Arens, from the opposition Likud party, believes top officials in the
government should resign.

"The primary problem was the total mismanagement of this war, and that
came from the political level, the prime minister first and foremost,
[and] the minister of defense," he added.

However, the commission falls short of demands for an independent
inquiry that would have the power to dismiss officials.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has resisted calls for an independent
investigation, saying it would be too time-consuming and distract the
army from the urgent task of defending the country. He said the
inquiry appointed by the Cabinet would have authority comparable to a
state commission.

Mr. Olmert said he hopes the commission "will finish its work quickly,
and will help Israel to prepare better for the challenges ahead."

Critics say the prime minister avoided an independent commission,
because he was afraid the findings would topple the government.