HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_011873.jpg
2.09 MB
Extraction Summary
8
People
6
Organizations
5
Locations
4
Events
3
Relationships
5
Quotes
Document Information
Type:
Book excerpt / memoir / evidence exhibit
File Size:
2.09 MB
Summary
This document appears to be a page from a memoir or book by Ehud Barak (marked with House Oversight evidence stamp 011873). It details the political fallout of the 2006 Lebanon War, the resignation of military leaders, and Barak's return to power as Defense Minister in June 2007. It concludes with discussions regarding intelligence briefings from Prime Minister Olmert about a secret Syrian nuclear reactor funded by Iran and aided by North Korea.
People (8)
| Name | Role | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Ehud Barak | Author / Narrator / Defense Minister |
Narrator of the text ('I'); replaced Amir Peretz as Labor Party chairman and Defense Minister in June 2007.
|
| Ehud Olmert | Prime Minister of Israel |
Singled out by inquiry report; briefed Barak on Syrian nuclear threat; portrayed as a military novice.
|
| Amir Peretz | Defense Minister (Former) |
Singled out by inquiry report as the 'wrong man in the wrong cabinet post'; replaced by Barak.
|
| Dan Halutz | Chief of Staff (Implied) |
Singled out by inquiry report; resigned before report came out.
|
| Tzipi Livni | Politician |
Called for Olmert and Peretz to quit.
|
| Dan Meridor | Likud Politician |
Member of Knesset defense committee; close to Barak.
|
| Menachem Begin | Former Prime Minister |
Referenced regarding the 1981 strike on the Iraqi reactor.
|
| Saddam Hussein | Former President of Iraq |
Target of 1981 preemptive strike.
|
Organizations (6)
| Name | Type | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Labor Party |
Israeli political party; Barak became chairman.
|
|
| Likud |
Israeli political party; associated with Olmert and Meridor.
|
|
| Mossad |
Intelligence agency that uncovered Syrian nuclear evidence.
|
|
| Knesset |
Israeli parliament; mentions defense committee.
|
|
| Hizbollah |
Militant group; mentioned as surviving the war.
|
|
| House Oversight Committee |
Source of the document (via Bates stamp).
|
Timeline (4 events)
Locations (5)
| Location | Context |
|---|---|
|
Site of the war discussed in the first paragraph.
|
|
|
Location of the uncovered nuclear reactor (northeast, Euphrates River).
|
|
|
Provided technical help for Syrian reactor.
|
|
|
Provided funding for Syrian reactor.
|
|
|
IDF Headquarters in Tel Aviv.
|
Relationships (3)
Briefed by Olmert; growing tension between them over dealing with Syrian nuclear threat.
Described as a politician 'to whom I became closer'.
Barak replaced Peretz as Labor Party chairman and Defense Minister.
Key Quotes (5)
"If you don’t win, you lose... Hizbollah survived. It won the war."Source
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Quote #1
"Without the botched handling of the war, I might well have remained a mere member of the Labor Party and a private citizen."Source
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Quote #2
"Olmert was portrayed as a military novice who’d gone into battle without understanding the wartime role and responsibilities of a Prime Minister."Source
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Quote #3
"Amir Peretz was found to be the wrong man in the wrong cabinet post at the wrong time."Source
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_011873.jpg
Quote #4
"Mossad had uncovered evidence that the Syrians, with technical help from North Korea and funding from Iran, were building a nuclear reactor."Source
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_011873.jpg
Quote #5
Full Extracted Text
Complete text extracted from the document (2,306 characters)
/ BARAK / 116
the beginning summed up the feeling of most of the country at the end: “If you
don’t win, you lose... Hizbollah survived. It won the war.”
don’t win, you lose... Hizbollah survived. It won the war.”
Without the botched handling of the war, I might well have remained a mere
member of the Labor Party and a private citizen. But when the commission of
inquiry released its report in April 2007, three people were singled out: Olmert,
Amir Peretz and Halutz. Olmert was portrayed as a military novice who’d gone
into battle without understanding the wartime role and responsibilities of a Prime
Minister. Halutz’s “excess of charisma” was held responsible for keeping
ministers, and military officers as well, from questioning his judgement or pressing
him for alternatives. Amir Peretz was found to be the wrong man in the wrong
cabinet post at the wrong time. Of the three, only Halutz seemed ready to take
personal responsibility. Even before the report came out, he resigned. Olmert and
Peretz were determined to stay put, despite calls to quit not just from the
opposition but from Tzipi Livni. Inside Labor as well, the war produced a clamor
for change. When a vote for party chairman was held in June 2007, I was chosen to
return in Peretz’s place.
member of the Labor Party and a private citizen. But when the commission of
inquiry released its report in April 2007, three people were singled out: Olmert,
Amir Peretz and Halutz. Olmert was portrayed as a military novice who’d gone
into battle without understanding the wartime role and responsibilities of a Prime
Minister. Halutz’s “excess of charisma” was held responsible for keeping
ministers, and military officers as well, from questioning his judgement or pressing
him for alternatives. Amir Peretz was found to be the wrong man in the wrong
cabinet post at the wrong time. Of the three, only Halutz seemed ready to take
personal responsibility. Even before the report came out, he resigned. Olmert and
Peretz were determined to stay put, despite calls to quit not just from the
opposition but from Tzipi Livni. Inside Labor as well, the war produced a clamor
for change. When a vote for party chairman was held in June 2007, I was chosen to
return in Peretz’s place.
Within days, I replaced him as Defense Minister as well. Yet the main item in
my in-box would no longer be Lebanon. I had been briefed a few weeks earlier by
Olmert on a threat hundreds of miles further away: a construction site in northeast
Syria, along the Euphrates River, where Mossad had uncovered evidence that the
Syrians, with technical help from North Korea and funding from Iran, were
building a nuclear reactor.
my in-box would no longer be Lebanon. I had been briefed a few weeks earlier by
Olmert on a threat hundreds of miles further away: a construction site in northeast
Syria, along the Euphrates River, where Mossad had uncovered evidence that the
Syrians, with technical help from North Korea and funding from Iran, were
building a nuclear reactor.
* * *
I had got to know Olmert fairly well over the years, initially when I was in the
kirya and both he and another rising Likud politician to whom I became closer,
Dan Meridor, were members of the Knesset’s defense committee. But from the day
I returned to the Israeli government in June 2007, there was growing tension
between us over dealing with the Syrian nuclear threat. It was not about whether
we should take military action to destroy the reactor, before the fuel rods arrived
on site and it could begin producing bomb-ready material. Just as under Menachem
Begin in 1981, when we’d launched our preemptive strike on Saddam Hussein’s
kirya and both he and another rising Likud politician to whom I became closer,
Dan Meridor, were members of the Knesset’s defense committee. But from the day
I returned to the Israeli government in June 2007, there was growing tension
between us over dealing with the Syrian nuclear threat. It was not about whether
we should take military action to destroy the reactor, before the fuel rods arrived
on site and it could begin producing bomb-ready material. Just as under Menachem
Begin in 1981, when we’d launched our preemptive strike on Saddam Hussein’s
402
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