Another Bomb from Winograd

When an early version of an Israeli government report lambasted Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's handling of the war with Hizballah in Lebanon last summer, Hizballah leader Hassan Nasrallah noted admiringly that unlike Arab governments, Israelis learn from their mistakes.

But the next report by Winograd Commission, the body investigating the conflict, may justify a similarly unflattering comparison between Israel and Hizballah. Retired judge Eliyahu Winograd, the head of the commission, said recently that he will examine claims that the Israeli army committed war crimes.

Human rights groups have accused both the Israeli and Hizballah of war crimes last summer. Israel by firing anti-personnel cluster munitions into populated areas, Hizballah by firing unguided rockets into Israeli cities and towns. But it seems as if only Israeli society is prepared to review the moral consequences of its actions. The Winograd commission agreed to look into the matter in part at the request of parents of Israeli soldiers.

--Andrew Lee Butters/Jerusalem