The Summit Of The Bunglers
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Courtesy Of: Haaretz.com
By Yoel Marcus
Published: November 17, 2006

If I had to give a name to the Bush-Olmert meeting, I would call it the Summit of the Bunglers.

Both of them are mixed up in wars that have no solution despite the might of their armies. Both are saddled with deadweights in the defense department. Bush has let his secretary of defense go; Ehud Olmert is still in partnership with his. Both were dragged into a military campaign without thinking about the consequences or the price tag. Both are doing poorly in the opinion polls.

Some 72 percent of Israelis are in favor of ousting the defense minister and the chief of staff, and Olmert's popularity has taken a similar dive.

In front of the cameras, the two leaders smacked one another on the back, each for his own reasons.

Bush, for example, has two more years in the White House, and he can still get back on track. Even a lame-duck president has considerable authority. He can change his policies, and, most importantly, he can fire government secretaries, aides, generals and anyone who gave him lousy advice, appointing better people in their place.

Olmert, on the other hand, wanted to strengthen Israel's image by creating the impression that he's got muscles in the Iraqi and Iranian department, and that he and Bush are in cahoots. He ended up embarrassing the U.S. administration, the Republicans and the American Jewish community.

With Israel's "successes" in the war in Lebanon and Beit Hanun, and its inability to stop the Qassam rockets, he probably had America's generals racing for the Pentagon bomb shelters.

They already refused our help back in the Gulf War, so you can imagine how much they want it now, in Iraq and Iran.

The U.S. Defense Department is beginning to understand what has also dawned on Israelis of late - that the Israel Defense Forces is not what it used to be.

The last thing the Pentagon wants is our assistance in matters they don't know how to handle themselves. Have we managed to fix our own problems?

Source:
http://haaretz.com//hasen/spages/789165.html