ASK DM EHUD BARAK

 

WINSTON MID EAST ANALYSIS & COMMENTARY  February 6, 2008   Email: gwinston@interaccess.com Please disseminate & re-post - with attribution. If you publish, send us a copy. Many of our articles appear on Websites at http://www.gamla.org.il/english &

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ASK DM EHUD BARAK:

by  Emanuel A. Winston, a Middle East Analyst & Commentator

When the Media next has the opportunity to interview Defense Minister Ehud Barak there is a particular question he should be asked:

While President Bush was in Israel, he made a plea for Ehud Olmert to be kept in office as Prime MInister.  Did you, Mr. Barak, receive a similar, private request from any U.S. source to NOT resign your post so as to keep the Olmert government from falling?

Apparently, Ehud Barak took the President at his word and broke his commitment to the Israeli people. If you recall, Barak of the Labor Party had promised his constituents that, IF the Winograd Report condemned the Olmert Regime regarding the 2006 Lebanon War, then he would remove the Labor Party and himself from the Olmert Kadima coalition.

The Report came out and Barak reneged on his pledge. We all know that Barak is a hungry politician - as are most of the others. He does wish to stay in office and, if breaking a pledge will accomplish that, he will break that pledge and lie to the people.

Some will recall Barak's deal with then President Bill Clinton. Barak agreed to pull the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) out of the South Lebanon Security Zone and, for that, Clinton promised him $800 million - for Israel.

Barak ran like a rodent, leaving Christian Lebanese Allies abandoned to the retaliation of the Lebanese Hezb'Allah Muslims and the Syrians in control of Lebanon. Barak also left tanks, artillery and pallets of shells. As a result, the Hezb'Allah Muslim Arab Terrorist army filled that vacuum, organized infrastructure buried deep among the civilians of South Lebanon, stockpiled weapons - especially Katyusha Rockets, which it fired on the civilian population in Northern Israel in the Second Lebanon War.  The casualties from the Hezb'Allah missiles, kill 43 Israeli civilians.  The IDF death toll was 116-120 Israeli soldiers. 

Now after the failed Defense Minister Amir Peretz left office, Barak was named Defense Minister, despite his previous record.

Barak has not demonstrated a great deal of integrity so, IF he received a call from President Bush to save Olmert, I would guess he considered it an offer he couldn't refuse - a "godfather offer". Naturally, he would expect the same kind of financial support that Yitzhak Rabin received in his run against PM Yitzhak Shamir. Recall that it was George Herbert Walker Bush and James Baker III who wanted Shamir out of office and a compliant Rabin in. How the cash did flow!

President Bush wants the historical Legacy of being called "The President who resolved the insoluble Palestinian/Israeli conflict". It doesn't matter that it cannot be resolved through a useless piece of paper signed by Olmert and Abbas of Fatah before Bush leaves office.

So, Mr. Barak, tell us about your conversation with Mr. Bush or Ms. Rice requesting you to break your word to your Labor Party and the Israeli people to resign your office and bring about new elections to save the Jewish State of Israel from betrayal.

Mr. Barak, how much support were you promised in a run for the PM Chair if you broke your word to the Israeli people?

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