The Winograd commission report that criticised Israel?s 2006 war against Hezbollah in Lebanon as a ?large and serious? failure, is utter balderdash. Israel is increasingly having to fight under tremendous international scrutiny and thus with fierce restraint. Would it have been better for Israel to fight like the United States in Iraq and invade Lebanon? Then there would have been an international outcry. Despite this, Israel has contained itself admirably. Iran and Arab countries need not gloat over the indictment of Israeli PM Ehud Olmert, for two reasons: one, Israel has the courage to analyse its past record and make the findings public. Two, as a fallout of the report, Israel will be more ruthless in any future war, unfortunate as it would be.
?Rajendra K Aneja, Dubai
FM static
Finance Minister P Chidambaram wastes no time and effort to save and shield the stock market whenever it crashes. Yet, he is not worried at all about the soaring prices of essential commodities over the past few years.
?Hansraj Bhat, Mumbai
Tour de farce
Rudy Giuliani?s humiliating withdrawal from the Republican nomination race proves Charlie Cook?s cynical remark, quoted in FE?s Selections from The Economist last November, that he would sooner win the Tour de France than Giuliani’s the nomination.
?J Anand Menon, Kochi
