Olmert Braces For Report Knocking Lebanon War Conduct

Israel's Winograd Commission will wrap up its deliberations on the 2006 Lebanon War with a report today that already looks like a political explosive device capable of blowing up Prime Minister Olmert's government. The report, which will focus on Mr. Olmert's conduct during the war, may cause the crumbling of his parliamentary coalition, which controls 67 seats in the 120-member Knesset. The interim report triggered demands that Mr. Olmert resign, notably from Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and more than 100,000 demonstrators in Tel Aviv. The fallout from the final report will likely influence the current Israeli-Palestinian Arab peace talks.