Word: olmert
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 2000-2009
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...into effect - and diplomats suggested Friday that they were close to a truce deal backed by a 15,000 strong international force - the after-shock of the Lebanon war is expected to shake-up the top echelons of the Israeli military, and it may even threaten Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's coalition government. Israelis overwhelmingly supported Olmert's initial decision to strike hard against Hizballah. But the latest opinion polls by Yediot Ahronot newspaper show a drop in the public's confidence with Olmert, his war cabinet and with the generals...
...wariness over plunging back into what Israelis remember as their own Vietnam may help explain Israel's caution over expanding the ground war. And so even though the Israeli cabinet on Wednesday gave Prime Minister Ehud Olmert the authority to order a wider invasion, Israeli officials made clear that ordering such an move further north into Lebanon would wait a few days to see the outcome of the diplomatic wrangling...
...Israeli media is reporting a disagreement on this question between Defense Minister Amir Peretz and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. Guided by his generals, Peretz wants to press on to the Litani River, up to 12 miles north of the Israeli border, and even beyond. That would also extend the duration of the campaign for at least another week, say Israeli military experts. The prime minister, mindful of the gently increasing pressure from the White House, and of the risk that expanding the ground offensive could bring large numbers of Israeli casualties, has insisted the assault be more limited...
...Olmert's caution is reinforced by military experts who note that even if Israel clears a buffer zone - which would require the forced eviction of tens of thousands of Lebanese villagers - Hizballah rockets fired from beyond the Litani River could still reach north and central Israel. And war planners have not forgotten that the last time Israeli forces dug in north of the border, their bases and supply lines were easy prey for Hizballah's guerrilla units...
...officials say, because they worry Assad is too unpredictable, and his allies too radical, to ignore. (Even as Peretz announced the new bombing regime on the Lebanese-Syrian border, he insisted that the Israelis had "no intention to open a new front with Syria.") "This is not a fight Olmert is looking for at the moment," says Eyal Zisser, head of the Middle East History Department at Tel Aviv University. The IDF would undoubtedly win, he says. But badly needed resources and attention would be diverted from the battle with Hizballah in southern Lebanon. Israelis don't want to embark...