While everyone knew the clock was about to run out, Olmert ordered the soldiers to hang around for three days instead of hunting down Hizbullah fighters.
The most revealing example of Olmert’s lack of moral clarity was his response to criticism of the accidental bombing in Kana. An embarrassed Israel announced a two-day bombing suspension. If Olmert believed Israel’s cause was just, why did he cede the moral high ground because of an unfortunate accident?
In the end, Olmert confirmed his servitude to the liberal mindset by assigning the fate of the two kidnapped Israeli soldiers – whose plight triggered the war – to some hoped-for diplomacy down the road. Sadly, this hapless concession illustrated, more than any other of his numerous mistakes during the war, the degree to which Olmert relies on ideological dreams at the expense of real power.