HAIFA, Israel, March 20 (UPI) -- Fighting for his political survival, Defense Minister Amir Peretz argued Israelis should not have expected too much of him when the last war erupted.
Speaking at a Haifa University conference Peretz noted that the war broke out when he was only 50 days in office.
"It is a bit of an exaggeration ... to (believe) it is possible to build air conditioned shelters and prepare the entire system...in 50 days," he said.
Peretz has been widely criticized for his conduct during the war and the government's failure to take care of its citizens in the shelters was particularly criticized.
A government appointed commission of inquiry, headed by retired Judge Eliyahu Winograd, is planning to publish next month its "conclusions" regarding Peretz, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and former Chief of General Staff Lt. Gen. Dani Halutz' conduct during the days leading to the war and the first five days of fighting.
The report will be published about a month before the Peretz' Labor Party chooses its leader and the front runners are two generals: Retired Rear Admiral Ami Ayalon and retired Lt. Gen. Ehud Barak who was also prime minister.
Peretz who built up his career as a trade unionist was widely considered unfit for the defense portfolio.
However at the Haifa University he said, "Civilian background is not a drawback. It is definitely an asset."
He warned against a conclusion, which he said is bad for a democracy, whereby "a civilian background in a drawback," he added. The military's thinking ought to be balanced by a national-civilian vision, he said.
The war Israel launched after Hezbollah kidnapped two soldiers "was imposed on us," he said. In it there were "very many achievements but also failures." History will judge it, he added.
