no need for the findings

There has been this whole debate in the press about the Winograd Committee's interim conclusions and their being made public. They were supposed to be made available to the public before the Pesah holiday.

After much pressure from the Prime Minister, the Winograd people decided not to release the information. This is despite a court order that legally forced them to do so. They appealed on some technicality (called state security which had already been dealt with) and were given an extension.

The debate is still raging. They are looking for more extensions and other ways to delay releasing their interim findings to the public, and others are trying to force them to release the info they already have right away.

Personally, I do not think it matters whether they release the information now or not. Or even ever. PM Olmert originally formed the committee with the specific intention that it not be able to do anything. He gave them no legal standing and they have no teeth to force anyone to resign. He refused, at the time, to appoint a State Commission of Inquiry. Such an investigative body would have been able to force change. Whether by forcing resignations of those deemed responsible or by forcing implementation of new procedures. Yet Olmert did not want to appoint any body that would have the authority to bring him down. So he appointed the Winograd Committee to investigate.
Legally nobody was able to force him to select the higher body of investigation, as it is solely the Prime Minister's choice.

So it really does not matter whether the Winograd Committee releases its findings now or ever. Rumor had it that they were going to come out with reports critical of Olmert and Peretz. That is when Olmert's spin machine started working overtime criticizing them for leaks and whatnot.

But it really does not matter. Whenever the findings are eventually going to be released, Olmert will continue walking around as if nothing interests him. he is above it all. He will say they have nothing to say about him and cannot make him resign. he will say he is busy coming to work and looking at freeing Marwahn Barghoutti or the Saudi Peace Initiative, or whatever makes him look good in the news that day.

None of it matters. Olmert runs the show and has protected himself. He will not let anything so benign as an investigation bring him down.

So none of it matters. We need to get that through our heads. Drop the arguments. It does not matter anyways.