In his first meeting with the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee since the war began, Olmert told lawmakers, "If we have go to war with Syria, we will do away with the limitations on the use of force we placed upon ourselves in Lebanon."
During the war, the government said it did not prevent the military establishment from carrying out its plans. Senior army officers contradicted that claim and said the ground assault was delayed several days by the government.
Reserve officers have complained about lack of strategic guidance and concrete military plans, old equipment and inadequate training, which they said increased the number of casualties sustained by the ground forces.
Nonetheless, Olmert maintained that the war in southern Lebanon sent a clear message to Syria. "What we have done in Lebanon amounts to a deterring element against the Syrians, because they now realize that, while in Lebanon we restrained our use of force, in a campaign against them we will not adhere to such restraints," he asserted.
Olmert also decided Monday to shelve his unilateral withdrawal plan, a major reversal in policy. The prime minister won the elections earlier in the year and built his coalition government on a platform in which his unilateral withdrawal plan was the centerpiece. Olmert had vowed to begin the process of setting permanent boundaries for the country by the end of this year if the Palestinian Authority had not come to the negotiating table by that time.
At Monday’s meeting, the prime minister said the situation in the country now merits a different response. Olmert told committee members, “Something has changed. The priorities I thought to be the right ones before are not relevant for now.”
During the war, the government said it did not prevent the military establishment from carrying out its plans. Senior army officers contradicted that claim and said the ground assault was delayed several days by the government.
Reserve officers have complained about lack of strategic guidance and concrete military plans, old equipment and inadequate training, which they said increased the number of casualties sustained by the ground forces.
Nonetheless, Olmert maintained that the war in southern Lebanon sent a clear message to Syria. "What we have done in Lebanon amounts to a deterring element against the Syrians, because they now realize that, while in Lebanon we restrained our use of force, in a campaign against them we will not adhere to such restraints," he asserted.
Olmert also decided Monday to shelve his unilateral withdrawal plan, a major reversal in policy. The prime minister won the elections earlier in the year and built his coalition government on a platform in which his unilateral withdrawal plan was the centerpiece. Olmert had vowed to begin the process of setting permanent boundaries for the country by the end of this year if the Palestinian Authority had not come to the negotiating table by that time.
At Monday’s meeting, the prime minister said the situation in the country now merits a different response. Olmert told committee members, “Something has changed. The priorities I thought to be the right ones before are not relevant for now.”