Excerpts from PM Olmert's cakewalk Yediot Ahronot interview "withdraw from
Jerusalem"

Dr. Aaron Lerner Date: 29 September 2008

"Withdraw" screams the 3 inch tall typeface on the front page of today's
edition of Yediot Ahronot introducing an exclusive interview by Shimon
Shiffer and Nachum Barnea with PM Ehud Olmert.

In keeping with their standing of cheerleaders rather than reporters,
absolutely no follow up questions were asked that might challenge Mr. Olmert's
positions or assertions.

As for discussion of the corruption charges that brought him down, Shiffer
Barnea declined to ask about Rishon Tours - the straightforward case in
which he himself admits he double and triple charged charities for travel
expenses,

The following are some excerpts:

"We must reach an agreement with the Palestinians, the meaning of which is
withdrawal, in practice from almost all the territories, if not all the
territories..including Jerusalem.

I think that we are very close to reaching a deal.

.We can handle all our rivals and we can deal with all our rivals
simultaneously and win. I only ask myself, what will happen when we defeat
them?...

I don't suggest taking crazy risks, I propose taking risks that have the
chance of dramatic changes.

.We don't know what, for example, will happen in the Palestinian Authority
after 9 January 2009.

I read what our (reserve) generals say and I say, how can it be that they
haven't learned anything and haven't forgotten anything? .By them everything
is tanks and land and controlling territory and territory under control and
this hill and that hill. All of these things are valueless...

The real threat that we face today in the North, in the South and the center
is rockets and missiles. We need an answer for them, but we won't reach an
answer by arguing over 200 meters. .We can go another two kilometers and the
range of the rockets will increase another 10 kilometers.

I say, there is no need to wait to make a decision. Either I will complete
it or Tzipi Livni or whoever comes after her.

The assumption that America, Russia and China and Britain and Germany don't
know how to handle the Iranians that we, the Israelis know, we will do, we
will act, is an example of a loss of proportions.we will act within the
envelope of the international system, where someone else - not we - are
leading it...

The Lebanon War will go down in history as the war that for the first time
the military system understood that classical war no longer exists. Only
Bogey Ya'alon, with his narrow thinking, could think that if we came with
the entire IDF into Lebanon the war would have ended differently. We would
have had hundreds of dead with the same outcome."

Dr. Aaron Lerner, Director IMRA (Independent Media Review & Analysis)
(Mail POB 982 Kfar Sava)
Tel 972-9-7604719/Fax 972-3-7255730
INTERNET ADDRESS: imra@netvision.net.il
Website: http://www.imra.org.il