Greetings from the French Hill: Criticism Against Olmert Fast and Furious

Even the left-wing Ha'aretz has been calling for Olmert to step down. We had the TV on again on Shabbat because I was so ansy about the UN negotiations that I had to see what would happen. As soon as the word came down that Israel was going to accept the cease-fire Resolution and the details became known, the criticism began to flow from all corners. It was fast, and it was furious. This criticism will not abate until investigations and pressures are called to bear. Olmert is in for a world-wind of trouble. From him to Peretz to Halutz on downward. Here are some great articles:

Olmert cannot remain in the prime minister's office
By Ari Shavit

Ehud Olmert may decide to accept the French proposal for a cease-fire and unconditional surrender to Hezbollah. That is his privilege. Olmert is a prime minister whom journalists invented, journalists protected, and whose rule journalists preserved. Now the journalists are saying run away. That's legitimate. Unwise, but legitimate.

However, one thing should be clear: If Olmert runs away now from the war he initiated, he will not be able to remain prime minister for even one more day. Chutzpah has its limits. You cannot lead an entire nation to war promising victory, produce humiliating defeat and remain in power. You cannot bury 120 Israelis in cemeteries, keep a million Israelis in shelters for a month, wear down deterrent power, bring the next war very close, and then say - oops, I made a mistake. That was not the intention. Pass me a cigar, please.

:
Israeli PM reaffirmed West Bank withdrawal amid fighting in Gaza, Lebanon
By Aaron Klein
© 2006 WorldNetDaily.com

TEL AVIV – Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's announcement yesterday he will forge ahead with unilateral withdrawal from Judea and Samaria in spite of violence in Lebanon and Gaza that followed similar evacuations amounts to a "victory for "Palestinian resistance" and proof the Jewish state can be destroyed, a senior terrorist leader here told WorldNetDaily in an interview.

Hizbullah: Countdown has begun to end of Zionist entity
Senior Hizbullah official: If a mere organization succeeded in defeating Israel, why would Arab nations not succeed in doing so?
Roee Nahmias

Preliminary implications: As the war reaches an end, more and more worrisome voices are heard from Arab nations, asking loudly and boldly if the 'triumph' against Israel in Lebanon will advance 'the day in which Israel will disappear'.

Ahmed Barakat, a member of Hizbullah's central council, said in an interview to Qatari newspaper al-Watan that "Today Arab and Muslim society is reasonably certain that the defeat of Israel is possible and that countdown to the disappearance of the Zionist entity in the region has begun."

According to Barakat, "This is the reason that Shimon Peres said it was a life or death battle and this is why the triumph of the resistance is the beginning of the death of the Israeli enemy. For, if a mere organization succeeded in defeating Israel , why would Arab nations not succeed in doing so if they allied? Many Arabs and Muslims viewed Israel in a fictional way and the resistance has succeeded in changing this."