The Israeli newspaper Haaretz has a blow by blow account of Israel’s diplomatic moves. But all you really need to know comes from the first line…

The political goals of Operation Cast Lead were not formulated until a few days after the fighting in Gaza began.

If the word “war crime” had any real meaning, the above would be grounds for prosecution. It reveals a criminal level of incompetence that would be punished by death if Israel was not so much stronger than Hamas. War is always a horrible thing, but to engage in it without even knowing what you want to accomplish is no better then random killing.

It would be one thing if the operation had been a fast reaction to a sudden attack. But Israel endured the increased rocket attacks for weeks without doing anything. For the political leadership to have no idea of what they wanted to accomplish after waiting all that time is inexcusable.

Edit: A different article from Haaretz has the military perspective….

An officer who was in contact with the political echelon during the Gaza operation says he now understands what went so horribly wrong in Lebanon: “It was weird, to put it mildly.” Another senior figure adds: “It is difficult to conduct a war when an election campaign is under way. Two of the ‘kitchen cabinet’ members were interested in the operation’s implications for the elections. The third [Olmert] was busy with the question of what it would all mean for his legacy.”