PERETZ MAY NEED TO STEP DOWN, BUT THEN SO DOES OLMERT

It's true that the Labor party's chairman (for now), Amir Peretz, is responsible for not taking any proper steps to halt rocket attacks on Sderot. However, that does not mean that Ehud Olmert (and even foreign minister Tzipi Livni) doesn't have responsibility to share. For now though, Peretz is certainly guilty of irresponsibility on his own part:

By most accounts, Defense Minister Amir Peretz’s days in his senior cabinet post are numbered. His future as party leader is also in jeopardy as a result of his behavior. Labor Party leader Defense Minister Amir Peretz is not only battling to remain in his senior cabinet post, but for his future as party leader as well. His adamant refusal to "do the right thing" and step down in compliance with public opinion polls and expressed wishes of party leaders may land him a spot outside of the inner circle of the political arena.

Peretz’s party leadership victory last year was viewed as a brilliant political coup, leaving his post as head of the nation’s Histadrut labor federation to beat seasoned politicians for the party leadership. Vice Premier Shimon Peres, then still a leading Labor Party statesman, was among those who ran for the leadership spot, but in defiance of all odds, Peretz emerged the victor. Others he defeated included former party leader Infrastructures Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer and MK Matan Vilnai.

It did not take long for critics of the new leader to express concerns, warning he was a political novice despite being a seasoned labor negotiator. It was a sure bet that Peretz would be given the responsibility for the treasury, a natural senior position for the Histadrut veteran. To the surprise of all, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert announced a coalition deal with Labor, placing Peretz in the defense spot.

The announcement was met with grave warnings of ‘what if,’ that have since been realized, resulting - in the opinion of some analysts - in the IDF failures in this summer’s war in Lebanon. Supporters of Peretz, on the other hand, praised the move, complimenting Olmert on being the first prime minister to appoint a civilian to the post rather than a retired general. They believed the move would result in a less hawkish policy. However, regional realities vis-a-vis Arab terror continue to dictate Israel’s realities and the need for a retired general, most analysts agree.

[...] A poll released today shows that 78% of the country would like Peretz to step down and hand over the post to someone with experience in running of the nation’s defense/intelligence and security agencies. The most visible candidate to date is Ehud Barak, a former Prime Minister and IDF chief of staff who happens to be the nation's most highly decorated soldier/officer. This is based on the assumption that Labor is not planning to break away from the coalition and wishes to maintain control of the defense post.

Is that so? Because Barak is the one who led to much of this downslide to begin with when he was prime minister, and there's no telling if he'll do any better. In any case, while Peretz can certainly be held accountable, let us be clear here: Ehud Olmert is also responsible, as is even his foreign minister Tzipi Livni, and they too should leave office ASAP. They've been trying repeatedly to avoid genuine show of muscle against the terrorists, and ergo, are not qualified to be political leaders.