ISRAEL - Apr 30 - Israeli War Report To Criticise Olmert.

According to leaked findings of a government commission of inquiry, PM Ehud Olmert, rushes into last year's war in Lebanon, relies unquestioningly on advice from the military and fails to define an exit strategy. Ignoring calls for his resignation, Olmert told fellow Kadima party ministers ahead of a regular cabinet meeting on Apr 29 that he would not respond to speculation on the potentially damning report before it was presented. The Winograd commission will hand the PM a copy of its 250-page interim findings only an hour before they are made public. In the meantime, Israeli media, quoting sources close to the government-appointed inquiry panel, said the findings would be highly critical of Olmert, Amir Peretz, defence minister, and Dan Halutz, the air force general who has already quit as chief of staff. The commission was set up in the midst of widespread public dissatisfaction with the outcome of a 34-day campaign against Hizbullah forces last summer that has since been officially designated in Israel as the second Lebanon war. Hizbullah fired about 4,000 rockets into northern Israel during the course of the conflict. Israeli forces failed to secure the release of two soldiers kidnapped by the Lebanese Shi'ite militia or to crush the movement. The government nevertheless claims the war was a victory in as far as it pushed Hizbullah back from the border and secured the deployment there of international and Lebanese government forces. Israel's Channel 10 television said the interim report, covering the background to the conflict and the first days of the war, would conclude that Olmert was a passive leader who was dragged along by the military high command and failed to take charge. The report was said to be equally critical of Peretz, the Labour party leader, who failed to make up for his lack of knowledge of security matters after being assigned the defence portfolio in Olmert's coalition. Other versions said Olmert would be criticised for failing to launch an early ground assault for fear of public reaction to military casualties. The leaks suggested the commission would be most critical of Lt-Gen Halutz, who has already taken responsibility for his role in the war, for being arrogant and hasty. People close to Olmert said he would not be forced to resign as a result of the Winograd findings in spite of calls from politicians, some of them from coalition parties, that he should quit. The legacy of the Lebanon war, combined with a series of corruption scandals surrounding Olmert and other members of his cabinet, has seen the PM's opinion poll rating plunge to single figures. "He has to accept responsibility", said Gideon Saar of Likud, the main opposition party that has benefited from Olmert's decline in the polls. "The people deserve better".