ISRAEL´S LEBANON AFTERMATH

BY RAY FLEMING THE disappointment and recrimination in Israel over the military campaign in Lebanon reached a new pitch yesterday when the Defence Minister, Amir Peretz, shifted his position significantly and said he favoured the appointment of a full independent inquiry by a state commission into the performance both of the government and the military. Previously Mr Peretz had supported the view of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, that an internal, official inquiry would be sufficient. Mr Peretz's change of mind, citing the need for transparency and maintenance of public confidence, was particularly embarrassing since two internal inquiry teams had already started work. Britain has had its own difficulties in deciding what kind of an inquiry should take place over aspects of the Iraq war and events leading up to it. The advantage of an official assessment is that it can be done quickly but the disadvantage is that the outcome can easily be dismissed as a “whitewash”. On the other hand, fully independent inquiries last a long time, cost a lot of money, and make recommendations that may have already been overtaken by events. It is to Israel's credit that there is general agreement on the need for an inquiry of some sort; evidence given to it and its eventual findings might easily contribute to the early downfall of the coalition which is built on Mr Olmert's Kadima party and Mr Peretz 's Labour party; the latter is already under pressure from his party members for his lacklustre performance in office.