LINDENSTRAUSS REPORT NOW OFFICIAL: HOMEFRONT NEGLECTED DURING WAR

State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss' much awaited report on the handling of the second Lebanon war has been released today. Ehud Olmert and his aides even went so far as to desperately and pathetically criticize it even before its release, but now, here it is, and it's scathing indeed:

"The management of the home front during the war was severely defective [and] the country's leaders invested most of their efforts in the fighting in Lebanon but neglected the home front that was under severe attack since the first day of the war," according to a report released Wednesday by State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss on the preparations and handling of the home front ahead of and during the Second Lebanon War.

This poor management, said the report, left an "empty gap" in the home front and left the residents "exposed, vulnerable and without protection" in the most difficult of periods.

The report added that in particular, the disabled, sick and those with deficiencies were neglected since they were not evacuated to the center of the country.

Here's another item from Israel National News:

The Lindenstrauss report blames Olmert, ex-Defense Minister Amir Peretz, ex-Chief of Staff Dan Halutz, and Home Front Commander Gen. Yitzchak Gershon for having "gravely failed in dealing with the Home Front during the Second Lebanon War." The police were praised for their performance.

It took the government 18 days of warfare before it conducted a debate on the Home Front situation, the report states. It condemns officials for failing to correctly assess the extent to which Hizbullah would attack civilians during the war, and also slams the government for failing to prepare bomb shelters to be used for extended periods of time.

Even before politician takes office, they should be ready and prepared to deal with possibilities like these. If you ask me, any excuse by Olmert to claim otherwise just falls flat on its face. He's asked for this slam, as even Amir Peretz has.

Here's more:
Comptroller doesn't spare local authorities in report.
Police received unexpected leg up in Comptroller report.
Comptroller: Too little, too late from social services during war.
IDF rejects report; claims cannot be blamed for everything (but leadership can, can't it? Dan Halutz, in example...)
PMO lashes out at Lindenstrauss (yawn. What else is new? They're simply not willing to accept guilt for anything)

Here's also Israel Insider's entry.